Road Trip 3: Beyond the Badlands
by Enthusiastic Fish
Summary: The third story in my road trip series (the first two are Out of the Badlands and Back to the Badlands). Tony has some big news to share and a road trip is the best way to do it. Little does he know that Tim has some big news as well. Ten chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is the third story in my Tony and Tim road trip series. The first two are _Out of the Badlands_ and _Back to the Badlands_. This story takes into account the recent announcement of Michael Weatherly's departure at the end of the season, but this story contains no season 13 spoilers (mostly because I haven't watched season 13).

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own NCIS or its characters. I'm not making money from this story...and I don't own the Lamb Chop song, either. (I'll bet you're curious, now.)

* * *

 **Beyond the Badlands  
** by Enthusiastic Fish

 _A good photograph is knowing where to stand.  
_ _~Ansel Adams_

 **Chapter 1**

Tony took a breath and made his decision. He'd been thinking about it for a few days, and it was time. He got up and walked over to where Tim was working at his computer.

"Probie, it's time for another road trip," he said.

Tim looked up with some surprise.

"It is?" he asked. "Why?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "You're not supposed to question a road trip, McGee. You're just supposed to be enthusiastically in favor of it. Do I need to try telling you again?"

"Where are we going to go? I think we tapped out the wacky tourist traps," Tim said, still with a little bemusement. Tony supposed he couldn't blame Tim for that. He must be trying to figure out where all this was going.

"I'm sure we didn't, but that's not what I was thinking of."

"Then, what?"

"I've never been to Yellowstone."

"Oh."

"That's not very enthusiastic, McGee."

Tim raised an eyebrow. "Well, you seem to be violating one of the cardinal rules of a road trip."

"What's that?"

Finally, Tim grinned. "You told me that you're not supposed to have a final destination in mind. It's about the trip, not the destination."

Tony grinned back, more than a little relieved to see interest. He'd started worrying that Tim was going to say no.

"I never said that!"

"Yes, you did."

"No. I said that you can't plan it all out in advance and you can't duplicate."

"But we did duplicate last time. We went to the Badlands again."

"That doesn't count."

"Yeah, only because it's your idea."

"Of course!"

"Have you cleared it with HR and Gibbs?"

"Nope. I haven't done a single thing except tell you."

"Well, when are we going to go?"

"Whenever HR will let us."

"How long?"

"However long Gibbs lets us."

Tim laughed. "Come on, Tony. I know you resist planning anything, but we should know _something_ about it beyond that we're going. Maybe you could get away with something like that in college, but it's just not going to fly here."

"Oh, I know, but there's no point in making any plans if you were going to say no."

"Did you really think I would?" Tim asked. "After everything else we've done, did you really think I'd say no?"

"All things considered, I think it was possible," Tony said.

"Do you _want_ me to say no?" Tim asked.

"No. I just want to make sure you _want_ to go."

The eyebrow went up again, and Tony figured he'd tipped his hand a little bit. Their road trips had never been simply road trips. There had always been something more to it, and this was no exception. Tony just didn't want to get into it right now. He wanted this to be a fun trip to a place he'd never been.

While he was sure Tim knew there was something going on, Tim didn't ask him to explain. Instead, he just nodded.

"Then, you better get the request in to HR and ask Gibbs. I did it last time. You have to go through the misery this time," Tim said. "Let me know when you've got it all figured out."

Then, Tim turned back to his computer and went back to work. Tony grinned, knowing that Tim was relieved that it wasn't him who was setting everything up. Now that he knew that Tim wanted to go along with it, Tony wasn't worried about getting permission. It wasn't like they took a lot of days off as it was. Ellie was on hand, and there were others to take up the slack.

As he went to his own desk to get some work done before the end of the day, Tony considered why he thought this was how he had to do it. It didn't have to be a big deal like he was making it. People did this sort of thing all the time. It wasn't the end of the world.

But at the same time, he felt like he _had_ to do it this way.

Tim left work at the end of the day, no delays. Tony, on the other hand, lingered so that he could talk to Gibbs.

Gibbs was out of the bullpen for longer than Tony expected and he was about to give up and leave when he came striding in.

 _Cue the raised eyebrow,_ Tony thought to himself.

And there it was. Gibbs didn't say anything, but his silence was eloquent. Tony chose to take the opening offered. He got up and walked over to Gibbs' desk.

"Boss, Tim and I are going on a road trip, taking some vacation days. When would work best for you?"

 _And the eyebrow will stay up because you're trying to figure out if there's something significant about this request._

Tony was not disappointed. After so many years of working with Gibbs, Tony could guess what he'd do most of the time. In spite of the fact that Gibbs could still sneak up on him, Tony knew how he reacted to most things. For being so mysterious about some things, Gibbs really was pretty easy to read, now.

"Where are you going?"

"Yellowstone."

"That's a long way."

"Yep. About 2,000 miles each way."

The eyebrow went down, but it could still go back up in another silent question.

"Since you'll still have Ellie here and Lovitz can help with the load, I figured it wouldn't be too difficult to manage without us."

"How long?"

"One to two weeks. Probably not two full weeks, though. Ten days at the most. Couple of days to drive out there. Couple of days to drive back."

"You check with HR?"

"Nope. We both have the time coming, but I wanted to check with you, first."

While Gibbs wouldn't admit it, Tony knew that he'd appreciate it, even if he'd smack them both down if they tried to ignore what Gibbs wanted.

"You check with _McGee_ yet?"

Tony grinned. "Yep. He's all in...as long as I set it up."

Gibbs looked at his computer.

"Better give HR at least two weeks to approve it."

Knowing that was Gibbs' way of giving permission, Tony grinned and nodded.

"'Night, Boss."

He went over to his own computer and put in the dates on the form he had filled out already. Then, he sent it on and headed out of the building.

Once he got out to the sidewalk, he paused and looked back. If anyone had asked him where he'd finally settle in for a long haul, he would never have thought it'd be NCIS. Back when he'd joined, it was just a way of getting away from Baltimore. As Kate had pointed out all those years ago, he had hopped around quite a bit in his early career. Maybe he was afflicted with some of his dad's _wanderlust_. If so, he'd definitely tamed it over the years.

Mostly.

He looked around the Yard, across Willard Park and to the _U.S.S. Barry_ on the Anacostia River. This had been home to him for a long time.

Then, he looked at his watch. It was getting late. Better get home. He'd be back here all too soon.

Besides, he had a road trip to plan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"So...that's 2,000 miles one way," Tim said. "That's a lot of driving. You sure you don't want to fly?"

"It's a _road_ trip, Probie, not a sky trip."

"I know. It's just that it's a long way."

"The last road trip was about as long. No complaining," Tony said.

"Is there anywhere you want to stop on our way?" Tim asked. "We hit the Badlands and Mount Rushmore last time."

"What is there?" Tony asked, leaning over the atlas.

"There's a dinosaur museum in Glendive, Montana," Tim said. "Could be fun. And Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I don't know if there's anything to see there. If we go in the north entrance to Yellowstone, there's a place called Mammoth Hot Springs."

"Nice. We should probably save our time for Yellowstone," Tony said. "But the dinosaur museum might be nice. If there's anything to see in that other park, that might be nice. Still, it'll be more than a full day of driving to get there. So we don't want to stop too much if we're going to have time to be in Yellowstone."

"Right."

Tim hesitated and then chickened out. He could tell that Tony had a reason for doing this, that it was something beyond just a road trip (because they'd never done _just_ a road trip), but maybe this was like the last time and it would come out when it needed to. He just hoped that, whatever Tony had in mind, he wouldn't be expecting Tim to get at it himself.

"Is Delilah going to be annoyed?"

Tim shrugged. "She's not here."

"She's not? Where is she?"

"Back in Dubai for a few weeks. They needed her help on some operation. Classified, of course. We talk, but she's not going to be here to be annoyed."

"Are _you_ annoyed?" Tony asked.

"No," Tim said, hoping that Tony would just drop it. He wasn't quite ready to talk about the subject of their latest fight, especially when he hadn't decided what he was going to do about it.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. How many days did HR give us?"

Tony probably could see that Tim was deflecting, but he let him.

"Ten. If we take two or three days of driving out there and then two or three days back, that gives us plenty of time to go around the park, be stereotypical tourists. Why, I can almost smell the sulfur already!"

"What an inducement," Tim said with a grin. "Let's go smell some sulfur!"

"It's good for you, McGee."

"Yeah, sure. I'm fine with trying to get there fast and then be able to take our time in Yellowstone. But is there four or five days worth of stuff to see?"

"Of course! ...but even if there's not, there are other places we can go around Yellowstone. It's not like it exists in some kind of void."

"I know _that_ ," Tim said, "but I've never been out there before, either. I don't know what there is to see."

"All part of the fun, Tim. I told you that we can't plan _everything_. That would be wrong."

"I know you're always saying that, but what if the hotels are full over there or something? Yellowstone's got to be a popular destination. It's not like the ball of twine."

"Have a little faith," Tony said, with a grin. "All else fails, we can camp out in the car."

"Sounds real fun," Tim said.

"You will _love_ it. I'm sure of it."

"Well, Monday morning. Your car or mine?"

"As much as I'd like to use your convertible again, I think it's my turn to give my car to a worthy cause."

"We _could_ use mine again. I don't mind."

"I know, but we'll use mine this time. I'll get it all ready tomorrow."

"Ready?"

"You'll see."

Tim laughed. "Now, I'm afraid."

"Just make sure you're packed and ready to go on Monday morning."

"Yes, sir."

They had planned as much as Tony was letting them plan; so Tim headed home. When he stepped inside, he sighed a little. He and Delilah had been doing so well since their last hiccup, but now, they weren't even on the same continent, and Delilah had left angry. She had called when she got to Dubai, but there had only been a couple of text messages since then.

Now, he sat down to write her an email, just to let her know that he wasn't going to be home. They'd get over this eventually, especially considering the fact that he hadn't even _made_ the decision. It was just that Delilah thought that the decision should have been easy and obvious. It was even a little flattering that she was so vehement about it. He just couldn't decide so easily.

As it was, he didn't want to push it right now. So he was writing an email, not calling. He wasn't going to bring up their argument. He would just tell her about the road trip.

 _Delilah,_

 _I hope things are going well in Dubai. I know you can't talk about what you're doing; so I hope that you're staying safe. Tony and I are going on a road trip to Yellowstone. We're leaving on Monday and will be gone for about 10 days. I'll try to check in with you every so often, but I don't know how much time I'll have. If you have the time to call, you can always call._

He paused. Was that too passive? He wasn't sure. Still, the anger had been mostly on Delilah's side. So he wanted to let her make the first move. Besides, he was still sure that he was right to be cautious, and it got his back up a little to have Delilah acting like he wasn't able to make these decisions for himself. But then... He looked at the ring box. He'd had the ring for weeks but hadn't had the courage to ask the question. Even with this current argument, Tim couldn't imagine saying good-bye to Delilah permanently. He loved her too much.

 _Love, Tim_

Then, he sent the message. She'd only just be getting up, he figured. The email wouldn't wake her if she was still asleep.

Satisfied that he'd done what he could so far, Tim brought up a website about things to see and do in Yellowstone. Sure, Tony wanted to be spontaneous, but Tim liked it better when he knew about a few places to go. Of course, they'd go see Old Faithful. How could anyone go to Yellowstone National Park and _not_ see Old Faithful? But what else was there? From what he'd read, it wasn't the largest national park in the country, but it was still huge and definitely the most popular. Geysers would surely be a prominent feature, but was that all Yellowstone was?

He went to the official park website and started to read. Let Tony go in blind. Tim would at least know something about what there was. He promised himself that he wouldn't plan anything. He just wanted to know their options.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony took his car to get the oil changed, the tires rotated, everything checked and double-checked to make sure that it would be working perfectly.

He knew that Tim was wondering what had sparked this road trip. He knew that he should just tell him what he was planning and leave it at that, but he liked the idea of doing it this way. The first road trip they'd taken was when Tim had been having a breakdown after the bomb at NCIS. The second road trip was to help Tony when he came back from Israel without Ziva. This time...well, it wasn't about helping either one of them.

Or maybe it was. Maybe Tony was hoping for some kind of sign that his decision was the right one. He didn't really expect Tim to supply that, but their road trips had been good for that in the past. They had helped both of them. Even the last one which was mostly about Tony. Tim had also used it as a way to prove the extent of his own recovery. And it seemed as though Tim had something going on, too. He was just a little too quick to get away from the topic of Delilah. He knew that they'd had some major ups and downs in their relationship, but it had seemed like smooth sailing for the last few months. Maybe, this was just a little more turbulence.

And even if nothing got solved, nothing got verified or whatever, still, they'd have the chance to see Yellowstone. It was another one of those places that Tony wanted to go to because it was a stereotypical place to go on a vacation. Just like Mt. Rushmore had been. Another place that he'd never seen before but had always wanted to see. Would it be as amazing as he thought it would be? Well, he didn't know, but he didn't see how it could really be disappointing...unless the caldera erupted again while they were there. That would suck.

He grinned to himself. If the only thing that would ruin the trip was a quick and painful death by lava, he figured that he was doing all right.

Then, he did something he hadn't ever really done for a road trip before.

He looked up some things about Yellowstone. While he knew about Old Faithful, he really didn't have a clue about what else there was. Wild animals, sure. Probably other geysers, but Old Faithful was the only thing that people really talked about. He had no intention of actually planning anything, but he did wonder if there was enough to do to fill up four days.

As he looked through lists of places to go in Yellowstone, he began to see that there was more than enough to fill up four days. Maybe even more, but they'd keep it to four. The speed limit inside the park was far from what one drove on the interstates, and if they went now, while the biggest crowds wouldn't be there yet, they'd still have to contend with other tourists.

Then, he took a look at the dinosaur museum that Tim had mentioned and decided that they'd bypass it and just head straight to Yellowstone. If they did that, then, they wouldn't have to drive as far in one day. Over 2,000 miles would be a long drive. Did they really want to do it in two days? That would be more than 15 hours each day. If they took three days, that would mean about twelve hours, instead. Still long, but much more doable.

Decision made, Tony figured that Tim wouldn't complain about a shorter day of driving. All that was left was getting packed and getting loads of snacks. If there was anything that the last trip had lacked, it was a never-ending supply of snacks in the car. They certainly hadn't lacked food to eat, but Tim hadn't thought of the importance of snacks.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

On Monday, Tony woke up early, feeling that giddy and excited feeling of anticipation. He showered as quickly as he could, grabbed his bag and headed out the door. He was _so_ ready for this trip. No matter what else, he was going to Yellowstone.

He pulled up at Tim's place and was surprised that Tim wasn't outside already. He was usually so prompt.

Tony pulled out his phone and dialed Tim's number.

The phone rang and rang and then, just as Tony was starting to wonder if he'd somehow got the day wrong, there was an answer.

" _Hello?"_

That was a very sleepy voice.

"Hey, Tim."

" _Tony? What time is... Oh, crap!"_

Tony laughed.

"Forget to set your alarm, Probie?"

" _Oh, man. I'm sorry. I could have sworn that I..."_ There was another pause. _"...Oh. Stupid. I somehow managed to mix up a.m. and p.m. It was late when I went to bed, but I didn't think it was_ that _late. It'll be a few minutes before I'm ready. You want to come in and wait?"_

"Sure."

" _Okay. I'll unlock the door."_

Tony hung up and chuckled to himself at Tim's obvious chagrin. It wasn't as though they _had_ to leave at a particular time, but they didn't want to leave it too late when they had to drive so much.

He parked the car and went to Tim's apartment. It was clear that he had made modifications for Delilah. He did a token knock and walked in.

"I'm just going to shower real quick and we can go," Tim called from his bedroom.

"Fine by me. I don't want your smelly self in my car."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

Tony heard the bathroom door close and he looked around. He hadn't really been here much since Delilah had moved in. There were modifications inside the apartment as well. They weren't completely obvious, but they were there for those who were aware.

Then, his eye was caught by a box sitting on the counter. He walked over, thinking that he knew what it was, and opened it.

It was an engagement ring, only it wasn't the typical diamond solitaire or something like that. In fact, it had a kind of utilitarian look to it. It was a relatively thick silver band with a single diamond inset in it. It was a relatively large diamond, cut in a rectangular shape. All in all, it wasn't at all like what Tony would have _thought_ Tim would pick as an engagement ring. Maybe this was another adaptation. It certainly wasn't the kind of ring Tony would have picked out, maybe not even for Delilah, but this probably made sense. She wouldn't want something getting in her way when she was in her wheelchair.

He sat down on a stool to wait, ready to ask Tim about the ring when he came out.

It was only a few minutes later that he heard the bathroom door open. Tim came out of the bedroom, hair still wet.

"I'm really sorry, Tony. I can't believe that I..." He stopped when he saw what Tony was holding.

"Got some big plans, McGee?" Tony asked.

Tim shrugged.

"That wasn't quite as excited as I'd have thought. How much did _this_ cost you?"

"A lot," Tim said. "No returns, either. So it had better work out or else I'll be trying to sell it on Ebay."

"Nervous?"

Tim avoided making eye contact.

"Yes."

"You want me to drop it?"

Tim glanced at him and smiled a little.

"Well, not the box."

Tony laughed.

"Okay. I won't drop the box." He set it carefully on the counter. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah. Let's go. With all the driving we're doing, I'm sure you don't want to keep hanging out here."

"No way. Come on and let's get outta Dodge...but I'll let us stop and get some coffee and donuts for breakfast, though."

"Sounds great. I'll pay."

"And I'll let you," Tony said.

Tim smiled and they left his apartment together.

"Yellowstone, here we come," Tony said as they got into his car.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The first day was incredibly uneventful. They drove, stopped to get gas as needed, stopped to stretch their legs. They didn't even stop to eat anywhere. It was just about getting to their required stop for the night, just outside Chicago. They got a hotel just off the interstate and slept before getting up early in order to get on their way again. Tim could sense that Tony was wondering if he'd call Delilah, but Tim didn't. He hadn't heard back from her; so he didn't bring it up. Instead, they ate breakfast at the hotel, filled the tank and started driving again. Tony had decided that they couldn't take the same route as they had to go to Mt. Rushmore. So instead of going through _South_ Dakota, they were going through _North_ Dakota. Tim wasn't sure it would make much of a difference, but he didn't care much since it only added a couple of hours of drive time.

Tim wasn't sure if he was sorry that he was the one driving at this point because Tony was looking through the atlas to pass the time (since they had so much of that), and he noticed something. He looked up with that familiar gleam in his eyes.

"Okay, Probie."

"What," Tim said, warily.

"Instead of going on I-94 toward Eau Claire, we're going to stay on I-90 and head toward Austin, Minnesota."

"What? Why?" Tim asked. "That's a little different from what we'd planned."

"Remember the rules of road trips. A good road trip has to start with an unplanned stop."

"But we've already stopped a lot of times," Tim said. "We got a hotel last night!"

"To get gas and take a break. To sleep. This is a _stop_."

"And what is this _stop_?"

"The Spam Museum!"

"You have got to be kidding me," Tim said. "There's a museum dedicated to Spam?"

"Yes! In Austin. So that's where we're going, and we _are_ going to stop there and you _are_ going to enjoy it."

For a second, Tim felt a little exasperated. Tony had seemed so intent on getting to Yellowstone and now, he was willing to go out of their way just to get to the Spam Museum? Then, he smiled.

"I guess after all the other crazy stuff we've seen, there's no reason not to add this to the list."

"That's the spirit!" Tony said. "Now, don't forget!"

"You'd never let me," Tim said.

"Darn right."

Tim felt less irritated as he drove on.

 _I'm just being grumpy, and there's no reason to be, not right now. I can't let my fight with Delilah ruin this trip. We'll work it out._

He kept up his silent pep talk until he was almost excited to see the Spam Museum. He took the route that would lead them to Austin.

Tony started giving him directions, but once they got close to Austin, Tim barely needed them. There were billboards. Lots of billboards.

"Look at that, Tim! It's almost as good as Wall Drug!" Tony said. "'The Guggenheim doesn't have free samples.' Ha!"

Tim laughed, too. Something this goofy _should_ have silly billboards. He took the exit and followed the signs. Then, he saw the museum.

"This is...a lot bigger than I was expecting," he said.

Tony laughed. "Yeah, but it's Spam!"

Tim just laughed and parked the car.

"We'll have to get pictures. No one will believe that we went to a museum dedicated to canned meat."

"Oh, yes, they will. After all the other stuff we've seen?"

"True. We still need pictures."

"Absolutely."

They got out of the car and headed to the museum. Pictures out front, of course. Then, they went inside. There were displays of Spam as it was sold all over the world, even in places like South Korea which, apparently, was the second largest consumer of Spam after the U.S. There were exhibits of bizarre Spam products, like Spam pizza. There was a grocery-store-like display with different varieties of Spam.

"It really is _all_ Spam," Tim said, in a kind of awe. "I can't believe that I'm seeing this."

Tony laughed again.

"I didn't think anything could be more bizarre than Wall Drug."

Tim grinned. "I don't think this is more bizarre. It's just a different kind of bizarre."

"I think we have to go to the gift shop."

"I think you're right."

They headed to the gift shop and found everything Spam-related that they could have imagined. More than they could have imagined. Tim was the one who found the Spam earrings and decided that they needed to get them for Abby. They both bought Spam t-shirts, of course. Then, they decided to get Spam t-shirts for Jimmy, Breena and Victoria. Jimmy's read _I think therefore I Spam._ Breena's had a flock of flying pigs on it, and Victoria's was a tie-dyed shirt that just had _SPAM_ written on it. They felt very successful as they left the museum.

"Well, Tim? A worthy diversion?" Tony asked.

Tim nodded. "Yes. I think I can agree that it was worth stopping...but I will never _eat_ it."

"Not required. I don't like it, either."

"Then, we should get going and stop somewhere _without_ Spam to get lunch."

"Sounds good. We still on track to get to Bismarck tonight?"

"Yeah. This only put us about an hour behind. It'll be later, but we can make it, and tomorrow won't be as much driving. We can take our time and find a good place to stop."

"Gardiner, Montana," Tony said. "How good do you think it'll be?"

"Good enough that we _won't_ have to sleep in the car," Tim said.

"Fine, fine. I'm offering you the chance to rough it and..."

"And I'm saying that there's no way I'm sleeping in the car."

Tony took over the driving at Austin. They headed northward, toward Fargo, North Dakota.

"Just so you know, Probie, we're stopping in Fargo."

"What? Why?" Tim asked. "What's in Fargo? The Tang factory?"

Tony laughed. "No. I don't care what's in the city. I just want a picture by a sign that says Fargo on it."

"Okay. I'll ask again. Why?"

"Because I'm a fan of the movie."

"There's a movie about Fargo, North Dakota?"

"Oh, come on, McGee! You can't be that out of touch!"

Tim smiled. "Never underestimate how out of touch I am. When did it come out?"

"In the 90s."

"I was in college. It may as well have not existed for all the attention I paid to movies."

"Well, I liked the movie. I know it'll be nothing like the real place, but I still want a picture."

"Okay, then," Tim said. "I'm sure we can find a sign that has Fargo written on it."

He started looking through the map of Fargo and smiled to himself.

"Oh, Tony, have I got the sign for you."

"What?" Tony asked.

"There's apparently some big entertainment complex and guess what it's called."

"What?"

"Fargodome!"

Tony laughed. "Perfect! We're stopping there."

"All right."

Tim plugged it into the GPS just to make sure that they could navigate to it once they got to Fargo. He had a regular atlas with them, too, but it was always nice to have some extra help.

It was another few hours of driving before they got to Fargo. Tim navigated them to the Fargodome with its huge neon sign and Tony made Tim take his picture standing beneath it. Then, in spite of Tim's protests, Tony made him get a photo, too.

"Tony, I don't even know anything about the movie!"

"I don't care! You are getting your picture with the Fargodome!"

Tim chuckled and gave in. He posed beneath the large sign. Then, it was back in the car and off toward Bismarck, where they were planning to stop for the night.

As they got closer, Tim started to doze a little. It was late and driving was tiring, even though he'd always felt that it shouldn't be, given that he wasn't actually doing anything.

"So...when are you going to ask her, Tim?"

Tim jumped a little.

"Huh? What?"

He looked over and saw Tony smile in the darkness.

"Delilah. When are you going to ask her?"

"Oh," Tim said, unable to come up with anything better than that.

"Come on! You bought the ring; you must _want_ to."

"I do."

"Keep practicing those words."

Tim rolled his eyes, even though he knew Tony couldn't see it.

"Really, Tim. What's keeping you from it?"

Tim stared out the windshield, watching the headlights of cars going the other way.

"What if she says no."

"Do you really think she would?" Tony asked.

Tim sighed. "I don't know. She hasn't dumped me yet and I haven't exactly been the perfect boyfriend. In fact, I'm about as far from perfect as you can get."

"I'd head slap you if I could, Tim," Tony said, sharply. "Who says you have to be perfect? If she wanted something else, she'd go and get it. You know she won't stay with you out of pity."

"I know that much," Tim said.

"But?"

"But...what if she doesn't want marriage? What if it's just that she wants this temporary situation and nothing more? I want more."

"Well, I'm far from an expert at this stuff, but have you talked about it at all?"

"Some."

"So...no, then."

"No! We have...just...vaguely," Tim admitted.

"So what are you going to do about it? If you bought the ring already..."

"Well, I had made some plans, but she's in Dubai right now. Not exactly the kind of thing you want to do long distance."

"Yeah, sure. I can see you putting it off. Won't get any easier."

"I know." Tim looked ahead. "Bismarck is coming up. We should watch for a hotel."

"Sounds good," Tony said, letting Tim change the subject.

They drove to a hotel just off the freeway and got a room.

"All I want is to spend some quality time _not_ moving," Tim said. "That was a very long day of driving. I'm glad tomorrow will be shorter."

"No argument here. I'm ready to go to sleep right now," Tony said. "See you in the morning, Probie."

"G'night," Tim said.

They both went to sleep quickly.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony woke up first, and for just a moment, he thought about how significant that would have been just a few years ago, when Tim was still having all his problems from the Dearing case and the bombing at headquarters. It was nice that things were, more or less, normal on that front. Tim apparently had enough to worry about without adding that to the mix.

Thinking about Tim getting married was a little trippy, not because Tim couldn't possibly get married, but just the idea of someone on the team actually having a normal relationship was almost bizarre. The closest they had to that right now was Jimmy and Breena. The fact that Tim and Delilah had lasted this long and through so many problems was a good indicator of how well they could manage being married, as far as Tony was concerned. They'd had a lot of struggles and still come out of them together.

Tony sat up and crept to the little balcony, trying not to disturb Tim's slumber. It was only five a.m. and they didn't need to rush to get to Gardiner. He leaned on the railing and looked out at the view...of the parking lot. Not exactly the most inspiring sight, but still, he liked knowing where they were and where they were going. There would be amazing views soon enough.

 _When are you going to say something, DiNozzo?_

That was the question. He knew he should. He knew he needed to, but he hadn't quite figured out the best way to explain it without it sounding wrong. Would Gibbs know already? Tony wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Gibbs always seemed to know everything. Well, almost always. Tony still remembered how Tim seemed to feel that Gibbs' lack of knowledge about his possible promotion was indicative of his overall importance on the team.

 _Would I feel that way, too?_

Probably to some degree. Maybe not as intensely as Tim had, but Gibbs not knowing something seemed tantamount to saying that he didn't _care_ to know about it. However, he also appreciated that he didn't need to explain himself to Gibbs just yet. If Gibbs did know about it, he wasn't saying anything to Tony about it, and that was okay. For now.

As he looked out over the parking lot, he realized just how glad he was that he had this time. The initial idea for a road trip had just been because he had wanted to keep up the trend. But now, he was seeing that this was going to be a good thing for him in a lot of ways.

It was early enough in the year that he felt a little chill, so he went back into the room and lay down on his bed again. Even when he finally told Tim what had sparked this whole adventure, he was pretty sure they'd still have fun. Sure, Tim would be shocked, maybe even a little unbelieving, but he'd benefit from it, too.

He sat up and turned on the TV, glad that the volume was still low from the night before. Then, he turned it down even more and sat on the end of the bed, mostly channel-surfing, while he waited for Tim to wake up.

After about an hour, Tim began to stir. Then, he sat up, yawning and stretching.

"Finally awake, McGee?" Tony asked, grinning.

Tim looked over at him.

"What time is it?"

"Just after six thirty."

"That's not finally. That's perfect," Tim said. "Enough time to shower, eat breakfast and no need to rush. Perfect." He smiled and got out of bed, grabbed his clothes and scooted into the bathroom before Tony could get in ahead of him.

"Sneaky, McGee," Tony said. "Sneaky."

But as Tim had said, they were in no rush. It certainly wasn't worth trying to get Tim to hurry up.

Tony decided that he was glad Tim wasn't pushing him to say what he had to say. It was probably obvious that he had a reason for the trip, but they were both enjoying themselves. That was better than reaching for some kind of healing.

They both got ready, ate breakfast in the hotel and then, it was back in the car to head for Gardiner. At the car, Tony grinned and held up his hand.

"Ready, Tim?"

Tim smiled and held up his own hands.

"One. Two. Three."

Tony threw out scissors, and Tim threw out rock.

"Rock crushes scissors," Tim said. "I'm driving first."

"Fine, fine. I get to pick the music, then."

"All right."

They got in the car and started on their way.

"I hope you're ready for Paul Simon. I can already hear the strains of 'Call Me Al'."

"Well, you've sold it," Tim said. "Put it in."

Tony wondered if Tim would know the music or if he'd be completely unfamiliar with it. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't actually sure what Tim liked beyond jazz...if anything. They talked through the first few songs, but then, Tim reached over and turned up the volume. To Tony's surprise, he started singing along as "You Can Call Me Al" began. He looked over and grinned before refocusing on the road.

Tony started singing along on the second verse. During the interlude, by unspoken consent, Tim started whistling along while Tony played the drums on the dashboard. They sang the last verse together. It was like they'd planned the whole thing. When the song ended, Tony applauded.

"Not bad, Probie!"

Tim laughed. "I always liked that song."

"I wasn't sure you'd even know it."

"I really like Paul Simon."

"It's not jazz or even fake jazz."

"I'm not confined to only one type of music, you know. I'm allowed to enjoy other genres."

"I just realized that I've never really known what kind of music you like."

"It's nothing unique," Tim said. "I like some stuff. Don't like other stuff. Just like anyone."

"Like what?"

Tim shrugged. "I don't care much for what Abby listens to."

Tony laughed. "Did you ever tell _her_ that?"

"No. Are you crazy? She'd have tied me down and forced me to listen to it until I was brainwashed into liking it."

"That's true. It would have been funny to watch."

"Yeah. With earplugs."

"Exactly."

Tim turned down the volume as the next song began.

"So what else don't you like?"

Tim glanced at him again. "Why?"

"Just curious."

Tim shrugged again. "I don't know. I don't care much for rap or hip-hop and stuff like that. No country music."

"What? No 'Achy, Breaky Heart' or 'Margaritaville'?"

"Now, you're bringing back horrible memories of being trapped on the school bus with a driver who _loved_ country music. I can't count the number of times I heard 'Boot Scootin' Boogie' going to school," Tim said, putting an exaggerated twang in his voice.

"Ah, fond memories."

"No. Are _you_ a country fan?"

"Oh, I'm a fan of anything I like. There are a few country songs I like, some of the fifties-era musicals. It's like movies. Can't restrict yourself based on type. You might miss some real gems."

"And some real stinkers," Tim said.

"Gotta take the good with the bad, Probie."

"The nice thing about music is that I _don't_ have to take the bad. If I don't like it, I don't have to listen."

"Except here."

"Is that a threat?" Tim asked.

"Maybe."

"Promise me that you won't make me listen to 'Boot Scootin' Boogie'."

"Maybe."

"If you actually own that song, I may never forgive you."

"You're very passionate about this."

"Don't you have a song that you just hate?"

Tony thought about it for a second.

"The Lamb Chop song."

Tim started laughing. "The what?"

"The Lamb Chop song. You know...hand puppets and there was the lady...uh...Shari Lewis, I think."

"You watched a show about puppets?"

"No. I didn't."

"Then, how did you know about it?"

"Let's see. Why _do_ I know it?"

"What _is_ the song?"

"Are you sure you want to know? If you've never heard it before, it will get in your head."

"We can go back to Paul Simon, after."

"Okay, okay." Tony felt a little embarrassed. There were other songs he didn't like. Why was it this one that had popped into his head when Tim asked the question?

"Well? I'm waiting, Pavarotti."

"This is the song that doesn't end.  
Yes, it goes on and on, my friend!  
Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was  
And they'll continue singing it forever just because  
This is the song that doesn't end.  
Yes, it goes on and on, my friend!  
Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was  
And they'll continue singing it forever just because  
This is the..."

"Wait, it just goes on like that?"

"Yes. Forever." Then, he remembered why he had known the song in the first place. "Back in college, we were watching a game that one of the guys had recorded while he was home. We didn't have cable or something like that. So, he brought it back and right in the middle of the game, this show started with three hand puppets and this Shari Lewis. It turned out that his little sister had decided she wanted to record the show and hadn't told anyone. She just pushed record."

"Did you actually watch the episode?" Tim asked, grinning.

"No. We fast-forwarded through most of it, but then, we didn't want to miss the game; so we figured it was about twenty minutes and we started it up again...just in time to see this Lamb Chop puppet thing start singing the song. Over and over again. Other puppets joined in, and little kids joined in. Then, finally, the show ended and we got to see the rest of the game. But for some reason, that whole year, people would just start singing it for no good reason. It got so annoying that the frat house passed a rule the next year that anyone who started singing the Lamb Chop song would have to go streaking down Sorority Row."

"And? How many had to?"

"Three or four."

"Including you?"

"No," Tony said. "I hated it."

"Well, that tops my school bus story. ...but what if I went and found some of your old frat buddies and asked them?" Tim asked slyly.

"Just drive, McGee. Don't get any bright ideas."

Tim just laughed and turned up the volume on Paul Simon and they continued to sing along.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

They got to Gardiner about five in the evening and decided to find a hotel and not try to see anything in the park until the next day. They checked on their options, and while nothing was luxurious, there were plenty that were adequate for what they wanted. After all, it was just going to be a place to sleep for a couple of nights. As long as it was clean, the roof didn't leak, the doors locked, they would be fine.

So they checked in, got a couple of sandwiches from a fast food place and enjoyed the feeling of _not_ driving.

Tim decided to surreptitiously check his email while Tony was in the bathroom. He wasn't sure if he was hoping for an answer or not.

...but whether he was or not, he didn't have one. He shrugged and decided not to check again until the trip was over. He didn't know if Delilah was deliberately not answering or if the work she was doing was genuinely taking all her time. If he kept checking, he'd just drive himself crazy with it. He'd already experienced that and had learned his lesson. He'd just focus on the trip, which is what he should do, anyway.

He nodded firmly to himself and put his phone away. They couldn't turn the phones off, just in case there was an emergency, but he could avoid getting distracted by it.

Tony came out of the bathroom.

"So...what are we seeing first?" he asked.

Tim smiled. "I thought we weren't supposed to plan."

"I give you permission to think of someplace to start," Tony said.

Tim pulled out the park map he'd got at the front desk.

"Well, we're on the north side of the park. Old Faithful is way down there; so I think we should go around up here tomorrow. Then, we can go down to Old Faithful the next day."

"What's up here, though?"

"Mammoth Hot Springs."

"Sounds like a place to go swimming. A natural jacuzzi?" Tony suggested.

"Uh...no. I don't think so. The places where the springs are, the water is apparently 170 degrees and a lot of them are dry now, just with the travertine left."

"Oh. So no swimming."

"Not for very long...and that would be a pretty unfortunate end to the trip."

Tony chuckled. "Okay. So what do we do, then?"

"Look at them, I guess. There are a whole bunch in this area. The brochure says that they change all the time, sometimes from day to day."

"Could be cool...or hot as the case may be."

Tim nodded.

"So we see how long Mammoth takes us to see and then we decide how much more we'll see before packing it in for the day."

"Sounds good," Tim said.

They lazed around the rest of the evening and then went to bed. Tim spared a moment to wonder when Tony would explain why he wanted to go on this trip, but he figured that Tony would bring it up himself when he was ready to.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony woke up early, but he didn't wake up before Tim who was already in the bathroom when he got out of bed.

It looked like they were both ready for this day to get started.

Tim was out of the bathroom in just a few minutes.

"Finally up?" he asked.

"Finally? How long have _you_ been up?"

"Longer than you," Tim said.

"Meaning that you just barely beat me awake. In fact, your closing the door probably woke me up."

"Still longer than you. You should get going."

"Yeah. How can the park open without _us_ there?"

Tony grabbed his clothes and hurried into the bathroom. He didn't waste any time getting ready. He was out the door and they ate a quick continental breakfast at the hotel before heading out. They drove south from Gardiner and joined the line of cars going into Yellowstone National Park. It wasn't a big line at this point. They were getting there right as the park opened, but there was only one booth. They had to wait just a little bit before paying the fee and driving in.

The first place they came to was the old rangers area, called Fort Yellowstone. They decided to stop a look around a little, but nothing really grabbed their attention. So it was back in the car and heading to the travertine springs.

The first place they stopped was actually very close to Mammoth itself. There was a long path that went over multiple levels and it looked like it would be very interesting. So Tony pulled over and they got out.

"It looks like we can park here and walk around the path or we could drive around and park at the top," Tim said, looking at the map.

"Which do you want to do?" Tony asked.

"Well, if we go to the top, then, there's a loop road and we'll be closer to it, but I don't necessarily care one way or the other."

"Okay. Let's go up there, then. I'm okay with that."

They got back in the car and headed to the loop road.

"Hey, look. There's an Alberta license plate," Tim said, pointing to the car ahead of them.

"The one behind us is from Michigan," Tony said.

Tim got an evaluating expression on his face. Then, he grabbed a pen and a piece of paper (the back of one of the maps) and started writing.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked.

"I'm going to make a list of the license plates we see. How many people come here every year? It's such a popular place."

"Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't. I'm still going to do it," Tim said with a satisfied grin.

"Well, then, you should have one more on there."

"I haven't seen another one yet."

Tony smiled. "We're in one. Add Virginia to your list."

Tim laughed and did as Tony said. They pulled into the parking lot at the top of the travertine springs. It was nearly empty, but..

"Montana! And Wyoming!" Tony said.

Tim dutifully added them to the list. Then, they got out of the car and started to walk on the boardwalk. There were mounds of what look like white dirt, a few places where steam was coming up from the ground. It was neat, but not really amazing.

As they came around on the boardwalk, Tony stopped and stared.

"Wow," he said.

Tim came up beside him.

"Wow," he echoed.

Spread out before them was a white, terraced landscape. If it had been cold, it could have been snow-covered ice or something like that. Here, it was travertine. Layer upon layer of it. A rusty orange river cut through it. It was like they'd suddenly stepped into another world.

"And you'd never heard of this place before?" Tim asked.

"No. You?"

"No."

"Wow."

They continued to walk around, stopping to take pictures. They found one place where the springs were active and the steaming hot water flowed down over terraces.

"This is amazing," Tony said.

"Yeah."

"Worth coming?"

"Of course."

They kept walking. The whole trail was about a mile up and down steps and boardwalk, but it was worth it to see all that. They took their time and actually spent about an hour walking around.

When they got back to the parking lot, it was nearly full.

"I see Idaho and Arizona and California and another ten Montanas."

"I don't need more Montanas," Tim said. "Already got Montana."

"But you've got more," Tony said.

"I'm not writing down every time I see a car license plate, Tony," Tim said. "I want to see how many _different_ plates, not how many of the _same_ plate I see."

"Fine, then. I see Utah and Colorado and another Wyoming."

"We'll probably see a lot of the western states," Tim said. He reached into the car and pulled out his list. He started writing down all the new plates.

"Are you really serious about this?"

Tim looked up. "Deadly serious," he said in a monotone.

Tony had one second where he was wondering at how somber Tim had become, but then, he saw the twinkle in Tim's eye and laughed.

"Of course you are. Why am I not surprised that the geek is serious about making a list?"

"I don't know. You should be very surprised," Tim said. "Now, are you up for following the loop road?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay. Then, let's go."

They got back in the car and continued around the loop. It wasn't extremely long and nothing was as amazing as the first stop, but they saw places where it was clear that the geyser activity had shifted, places where dead trees stood, surrounded by the toxic pools. Places where they couldn't help but wonder what they would have looked like when they were active.

After that excellent introduction to what they could see in Yellowstone, it was time to make a decision.

"Okay. So where do we go, now?" Tim asked. "We're here all day, but there's way too much to see in one day."

"I really want to see Old Faithful," Tony said. "Let's drive down to that and then work our way back up to here."

"That will take us almost to the other end of the park," Tim said. "And we'll be ignoring the other side of the loops."

"We can do the other side tomorrow. What do you think?"

Tim thought about it, and Tony watched with interest as he seriously considered the options. It was one of those things that he really couldn't understand but had grown to appreciate about Tim. He took things seriously, even having fun. He had fun, but it wasn't very often that he just had fun without thinking about it. He looked at the map again.

"Okay, so we go down to Old Faithful and then make our way up, and if we run out of time today, tomorrow, we go around the other side of the loops and on our way back, we can pick up anything we miss today. Then, the day after, we could drive through and go out the east entrance and go back through Cody, Wyoming."

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that," Tony said.

"Sound good?"

"Yeah. Let's do it!"

"Excellent. Drive on, Jeeves."

"Jeeves? I'm the smart butler which makes you the stupid rich guy, Wooster."

"I'm the rich guy and you're my servant?" Tim asked. "That sounds about right."

"Ha ha. Don't get any ideas, McGee."

"You gave them to me, first."

"Let's just get going. The speed limit is mostly 45 all the way through here and that doesn't even count the stupid tourists."

"Like us?" Tim suggested.

"We're tourists, but not stupid ones. I know that the animals here are wild and there are no cages. A bear starts charging us, there's no magic line he can't cross," Tony said. "I've seen way too many stories about stupid people who think that Yellowstone is some kind of special zoo with invisible bars. If I see wild animals, I'll take a picture from the safety of my car, but I'm definitely not going to get up close and personal."

"I'll remember that."

They started the drive down to Old Faithful. In terms of the miles driven, it wasn't very far, but in terms of the type of road and the amount of traffic on the road, it was much longer. It took over 90 minutes to get down to it from Mammoth. Then, the parking lot was filling up fast when they got there. It was clear that this was a popular stop. Everyone who came to Yellowstone for the first time wanted to come to see Old Faithful. It was what they'd heard of, probably more than any other part of the park.

"Well, we're definitely not the only ones here today," Tim said.

"I'll say. Hey, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Florida! Look at that. Someone drove all the way from Florida to come here."

Tim started jotting down the states.

"Oh, I see Saskatchewan and Manitoba."

"Slow down!"

"No way. There's a bunch of Idaho and Utah plates. Nevada. More Arizona. Maine! That's a long drive."

"Definitely," Tim agreed. "Okay. We need to get to the geyser if we're going to see it. No more plates until we get back."

Tony held up his hands in capitulation.

"I'm just trying to help."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. Let's go."

They walked from the parking lot to the observation area for Old Faithful. It was already filling up with people and they still had 20 minutes before the eruption was supposed to start.

"You'd think this was one of the most popular attractions in the country or something," Tony said.

"Yeah, it had better be worth it."

"Even if it's a dud, it'll still be worth it," Tony said. "Seeing something like this is cool."

He looked over and Tim was staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Is this like Mount Rushmore?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're excited just because of the act of seeing it."

Tony looked back at the geyser.

"Yeah. I think that's part of it. People come here, even though most of them probably never go camping or have any interest in actual wilderness, but they come here anyway to see a bunch of boiling hot water shoot up into the air."

He glanced over and Tim was now looking at all the people around them.

"You ever wonder if there's something instinctual about enjoying stuff like this in a big group?" Tim asked.

"Uh...no."

Tim laughed. "Figures. Okay, Tony. Time to document."

"You can't take my picture when there's no eruption happening," Tony protested. "Then, I'll just look stupid posing."

Tim raised a silent, yet eloquent, eyebrow.

"Don't start with me, Probie."

Tim just smiled and took his photograph anyway. Not to be outdone, Tony took Tim's photograph. Then, they each took pictures of each other at the same time.

"Camera war. Who won?" Tony asked.

"Me, if you're asking," Tim said.

"I'm not."

They waited the last few minutes and then stood in silence as the eruption began. It wasn't a dud. It was amazing. The geyser spewed water high into the air, burst upon burst as the eruption continued. It only last for a few minutes, but it was really impressive.

"Wow," Tim said. "That's not a dud. Very cool."

"No. Very hot."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"That, too," Tony said. "Okay. Now what?"

"There's a trail here. We should walk around. There's got to be more to see."

"Sure, okay."

They started off toward the trail and crossed the Firehole River. To their surprise, there were a lot more geysers than just Old Faithful. In fact, there were about 10 different geysers and more pools they saw. Not all of them were erupting when they got there, but it was impressive nonetheless. They walked to the Grand Geyser first, but it wasn't erupting. They'd missed it and it only erupted about twice a day. Still, what they saw was amazing. On their way back, they climbed up to Observation Point, 250 feet above the Old Faithful Geyser.

"Wow," Tim said. "This is amazing. I had no idea there was so much here. I thought it was just Old Faithful. That was good enough. This is something else."

"Yeah," Tony said. He looked at Tim and smiled as he was staring out over the geysers and pools. He lifted his camera and took a picture. Tim was just staring with that expression he got sometimes. It could only be described as awe. No pretending to be disinterested.

Then, he looked out, too. This was exactly what he had hoped to get from this road trip. It was a different kind of trip. The goofy fun they'd had the last time was still great, but this was a different kind of fun, a deeper fun. He nodded to himself. This was perfect. It didn't matter that all the geysers weren't erupting. They hadn't even known these others existed. This was what Tony wanted.

"Well, are you ready to see more?" Tim asked.

"Absolutely."

"Let's go."

They went back to the car and started making their way back up to Gardiner. Tony called out all the license plates and Tim dutifully wrote them down (Arkansas, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Michigan). They stopped at every possible place that had signs for geysers and pools. They saw the mud pots and the sapphire pool and geysers. What was really amazing was how different they all were. It wasn't like seeing the same geyser over and over. The ones that were erupting had their own personalities which made each one a new experience. It took hours to see them all because they stopped in so many places and because they were continually getting stuck behind tourists who ignored the instructions in the brochures and stopped their cars in the middle of the road because they saw deer or elk or bison. It was a little frustrating, but all in all, it was still wonderful. They mostly subsisted on snacks and bottled water, planning for a big dinner to close out the day.

Tim found a pizza place that had good reviews and they decided that a big pizza would do it. They didn't need fancy. So they got a large pizza, a couple of beers and headed back to their hotel room. They would have eaten at the place, but it was way too crowded.

"Okay, I declare day one of Yellowstone to be a complete success," Tony said.

Tim saluted him with a slice of pizza.

"I agree. I knew there were lots of geysers, but I had no idea how _many_ there would be."

"So what is there, tomorrow?" Tony asked.

Tim pulled out the park map again and looked over it.

"If we stick with our plan, then, we won't be seeing many geysers. Lots of mountain views, waterfalls and... the Grand Canyon."

"Huh?" Tony asked. "I thought the Grand Canyon was in Arizona."

"Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone," Tim read. "That sounds really interesting. You think it'll be like the Arizona Grand Canyon?"

"I doubt it. It couldn't be that big, could it?"

"I don't know. I didn't know that there were two Grand Canyons."

"Then, I guess we'll see what it's like, tomorrow."

"Sounds good."

They ate the whole pizza, cleaned up the trash and then went to bed early.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Tim woke up when a beam of light hit his eyelids. It was always nice to wake up that way. He still didn't take a good night's sleep for granted. He'd had too many bad nights for him to lose that, even a couple of years later.

He sat up and saw that Tony was already up and in the bathroom. He smiled to himself. Tony was probably trying to beat him getting up since Tim beat him yesterday. Tony was always a little competitive, no matter what the situation was.

He got up and picked out his clothes for the day. He didn't want to have any reason for delay. They would have a lot of driving to do, although he wondered if there would be as many people on this side of the park, although just because he hadn't heard of the places they were going didn't mean that no one else would have.

The door opened and Tony came out of the bathroom.

"All right, Probie. Get going. We have lots to do today."

"I'm ready."

Tim hurried into the bathroom and showered and got dressed. Then, they grabbed a quick breakfast in the hotel before heading back into the park. They waited in a line to get into the park. Tony, again, started pointing out the license plates (North and South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas) Then, they started driving. When they got to Mammoth, they took a left and headed toward what was called the Tower-Roosevelt junction. It was a relief that not many people were going the same way.

"So, are you ready to see something _not_ geyser-like?" Tony asked.

"Sure."

They started eastward. After a few miles, Tony noticed a sign.

"Hey, look! Blacktail Plateau Drive," he said. "Let's take it!"

Tim nodded and signaled to get off the main road. Instantly, they were on a dirt road.

"Whoa! It's not paved!" he said.

"There weren't any warnings about that," Tony said. "Just that RVs and trailers aren't allowed. If regular cars couldn't drive it, they would say so. Just slow down and we'll be fine."

Tim did as he was told. Once they slowed down, the road became a beautiful, relaxing drive. They saw elk and bison off the road, grazing. It was winding and went up pretty high. About halfway through the drive, Tim suddenly pushed on the brakes.

"Hey! What was that for?" Tony asked.

Tim pointed about 50 feet down the road.

"Isn't that a bear?" he asked.

Tony looked.

"Wow. It is."

He scrambled for his camera and snapped some pictures, but then, the bear was still in the road and they weren't about to aggravate it.

"How long do we wait?" Tim asked.

"Maybe, start creeping forward...slowly. It probably will run away once it sees us."

"Okay."

Carefully, Tim eased the car forward, getting closer and closer to the bear. Finally, it looked at them and scampered away. Tim let out a soft sigh of relief. He didn't know what kind of bear it was, but he had no desire to get up close and personal with something that could kill him.

"Good. Let's keep going," Tony said.

They finished the drive and got back on the main road, but only for a few minutes because they saw a sign for the Petrified Tree, and had to see that, too. Then, they started down to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

"Looks like we can drive on both sides. It'll take a while," Tony said.

"We have all day," Tim said.

"Exactly."

It took a couple of hours to get down to Canyon Village and then a bit of maneuvering to figure out where to get on the loop road, but they got there, and went over to Inspiration Point and then back along the loop, stopping at every place they could and walking around, enjoying the views. ...and of course, watching for license plates. They saw a few more (Alabama, British Columbia, New York) and a lot of repeats.

Finally, they got to Lookout Point which was aptly named. The view of the Lower Falls was amazing.

"It's not as big as the Grand Canyon," Tony said, "but it's amazing. How could I not have known about this before we came?"

"I don't know," Tim said. "This is so cool."

"Yeah."

They took loads of pictures, taking care not to do anything stupid. They were both determined not to be stupid tourists. But then, they stopped worrying and just enjoyed the view.

It was quiet as they both took it in, not speaking, not taking pictures, just looking at the amazing sight spread out in front of them. Then, suddenly, Tony started talking. Tim had been wondering when he might explain himself, but he hadn't expected it to happen right now.

"So...you're going to be getting a promotion, Probie. Not that you shouldn't have had one before, but you'll finally be getting it."

Tim was shocked. He turned to Tony in surprise "How did you know? Did Vance tell you? He said he wouldn't mention it to anyone until I'd made up my mind."

The look Tony gave _him_ was surprised and confused.

"What are you talking about, Tim?"

"Uh..." It was now clear that they weren't talking about the same thing. "...uh, nothing."

Tony laughed.

"Wow. You are such a _bad_ liar, Tim. What's going on?"

"No. Nothing. This is your thing. I didn't mean to say anything."

"It's _our_ thing, McGee. We're both on this trip. You have news, too?"

"Maybe. You go first. That's why we're on this trip, isn't it? You've had something to say the whole time. I could tell from the minute you asked about coming here."

"So have you, it sounds like."

Tim shook his head. "No, I hadn't planned on saying anything."

"Well, you're going to, now."

"You go first," Tim insisted, feeling like an idiot for giving it away.

They walked over to one of the benches and Tony took a breath before sitting down. Here it was. Finally.

"I asked Vance for a transfer."

"You _asked_..." Tim said, sitting down beside him. "Why? You've never seemed to want anything else but what you've got."

"That's what I thought, too."

"So...why? Why now?"

Tim knew that Tony didn't like just explaining how he felt about things, but it was a sign of how things had changed between them over the years that he didn't try to dissemble.

"It just was time. This is going to sound stupid, but... I was talking to Stan a couple of years ago and I asked him why he had decided to leave Gibbs' team after five years with him. He said that his reasons were personal, but that it was just his time to go. He said that I'd know what he meant, eventually." Tony laughed a little. "I thought it was a total copout, that he just didn't want to say anything, but I've been thinking about this for the last few months and I've been hanging on when I shouldn't have. I should have moved on before, but I just didn't want to change things around like that. But I've finally seen the writing on the wall, and I asked Vance for a transfer."

"Wow. So...I hope you realize that you really didn't need to have us drive 4000 miles just to tell me that you were getting a transfer."

Tony grinned. "Of course, but what better way to end up one chapter than with a big road trip?"

"I guess. So...where are you going? Are you doing some kind of Agent Afloat, like Stan?"

Tony shook his head. "No. I said I'd be willing to go that route if Vance thought I should, but he wants me...running my own team."

"That makes sense."

"Are you sure?"

Tim grimaced. "Tony, that was almost ten years ago."

"Just checking."

"So where, then?"

"Right now...he's having me take a temporary assignment in Rota."

"Of course," Tim said. "That makes sense. You speak Spanish and everything."

"Yeah, but it's only temporary while one of the team leads is out of commission. After that, he says that he's going to want me in the Middle East, the Bahrain field office."

"The Middle East? Are you kidding?"

"Nope. I told him that I wasn't sure I wouldn't start an international incident if he put me there, but for some strange reason, he thinks I'll do a good job. Either that or he's secretly planning to kill me."

"Is that what you want?"

"I don't know," Tony said.

Tim was surprised that he was being so honest about it.

"It's a big change and you know how I feel about that...but I've been marking time for years, and it's time to do something that isn't my usual. Even if this ends up being the wrong thing, it'll shake it up for me enough that maybe the right thing will be more obvious."

Tim suddenly had a thought and it slipped out before he could consider the wisdom of it.

"Is it because you think Ziva might be there?"

Tony raised an eyebrow at him.

"You realize, I hope, that the Middle East is a pretty big place, McGee. I can't just meet a guy from _the Middle East_ and ask him if he knows this guy Omar that I knew in college."

Tim blushed and looked down.

"That's not what I meant."

Tony sighed. "Yeah, I know what you meant. I don't know. I'll be closer there than here, but...it's been a couple of years since she left, never any contact. I don't know that I can think about it like that. Right now, it's just a job opportunity. We'll see if it's anything else."

Tim looked up again. "Man, Tony...you're way more adventurous than I am. That's... It's like you're planning on jumping into the frying pan."

"Well, it's not like Bahrain is in the middle of a revolution. They had some protests and stuff, but I'm not parachuting into Syria or anything."

"But with ISIS and all the upheaval in Yemen and Iraq and...that's just..."

"Exciting," Tony said and smiled. "It's exciting and you can bet that I won't be bored there."

"No, you probably won't be."

"See? No down side...as long as I can crash here, sometimes."

"I'll have a pullout couch for you," Tim said and smiled.

"You won't give up your bed?"

"Not a chance...but you can have the couch."

Tony laughed, and Tim thought he might have forgotten about Tim almost blabbing his own secret...but alas...

"Now, Tim, what were _you_ talking about before?"

"It's really nothing," Tim said and looked away.

"Yeah, so much nothing that you're getting all shifty-eyed. Come on. Give."

Tim sighed. He knew Tony wouldn't give it up, not now that he knew there was something to find out.

"The real reason I haven't proposed to Delilah isn't because of her going to Dubai. I knew about that in advance."

"And?" Tony asked when Tim didn't go on.

"...and the real reason is that we had a big fight the night before she left and we hadn't...resolved it before she had to fly out. Except for a couple of texts, I haven't even heard from her since."

"What were you fighting about? I'm assuming it has something to do with what you're not telling me."

"Yeah." Tim looked down again and rested his elbows on his knees. "A couple of weeks ago, when you guys were out and I was trying to get the phone records for the Pham case, Vance called me into his office. He's never been happy about my passing up the chance to go to Japan. He said that he needed me to get out of Gibbs' shadow and take some steps forward because...I was marking time." Tim smiled a little, given that Tony had said the same thing about himself. "He said that, with Delilah being part of the equation, there are some restrictions on where I could go. ...but there's going to be a vacancy in the DC field office and he wants me to take it."

"Wow. Congratulations. Why was Delilah mad about that?"

"Because I told him I needed to think about it...and I'm still thinking. Delilah said that I should have accepted right away, that this is a great opportunity and it's the kind of thing I've always wanted."

"I agree with Delilah," Tony said. "Why haven't you?"

Tim grimaced again, but he didn't look at Tony.

"A few years ago, I was so messed up that I was in a psychiatric hospital. I couldn't sleep through the night because I was afraid that a guy who I knew was in jail was going to somehow destroy the world. I was nuts. Just a little bit of extra stress and I fell apart. He wants me to be in charge of a team. What if I fall apart again? This wouldn't just be an agent losing it. It could be detrimental to any agents working under me. How can I take that risk?"

"You're scared," Tony said.

"Yeah," Tim admitted. "I'm scared of what might happen, what I might do...and how badly I might fail."

"Have you told Delilah about all that?"

"Only the highlights...not the lowlights," Tim said a smiled a little at his hands. "I didn't want to get into it and since she doesn't know how serious it was, she hasn't wondered. She thinks that I'm just wanting to keep things the same because I don't have to try. I told her that it wasn't like that, but she kept at it and before I knew it, we were shouting at each other. Then, her flight was early the next morning."

"Tim?"

Tim turned his head to look at Tony and saw a very un-Tony-like serious expression.

"Yeah?"

"I know that I'm not the best guy to give relationship advice, but if Delilah is upset about your not jumping at this chance, you need to tell her why you're hesitating. You can't just pretend that stuff didn't happen. I think you shouldn't worry about it happening again, but it's not me who went through it. Still, she needs to know. How can she understand if you don't tell her?"

"Yeah, I know. I just...didn't want to have to explain that her boyfriend had a nervous breakdown."

"Hey, so did Isaac Newton from what I've heard. And he was a genius."

"He also famously died a virgin."

Tony laughed. "Okay...maybe not the best comparison in the current discussion, then."

Tim couldn't help it. He laughed, too.

"No, probably not. I know you're right, Tony. I just don't know how to tell her...after two years of not bringing it up."

"You'll figure that out. If you decide to do it, you'll stammer and say some stupid things..."

"Thanks a lot."

"...and then, you'll come out with something amazing and brilliant and she'll be like putty in your hands."

Tim smiled and shook his head. "I doubt that. I'm sorry for bringing it up at all, really. I knew that you had a reason for wanting this trip, and I didn't want to make it about me."

"It's not. It's about both of us," Tony said, easily. "We have major life decisions and that's a great reason for a road trip. I just thought your major decision was about proposing."

"That's part of it," Tim said.

"I thought that was _all_ of it, and you know it."

"Yep. I was counting on that."

"Too bad for you. Open mouth, insert foot."

Tim sat up again.

"When are you leaving?"

"A couple of months."

Tim looked at Tony and then out at the falls again. He thought about how mushy this might sound, but he couldn't _not_ say something.

"I'm going to miss you, Tony. Here, I was thinking that even if I took the job, I'd still see you a lot because I'd just be in DC. You're going to be on a whole different continent."

Tony thumped him on the shoulder.

"I'll be around visiting so much you'll get sick of me."

"No, I don't think I will," Tim said, earnestly. "Especially not after the last few years. Tony, you kept me from self-destructing. I was on my way there and everyone knows it."

"You don't have to keep thinking about that, you know. I don't, not most of the time. I didn't help you out so you felt obligated to do anything about it. I just wanted to help."

"I know," Tim said. "I do know that, but that kind of thing doesn't go away...like you said. Maybe _you_ can forget, but I can't, and I can't forget what saved me." He smiled a little. "If you had told me 15 years ago that I'd be friends with a jock, I'd have laughed at you. I would never have believed that there was a jock out there who would _want_ to be friends with a geek like me."

Tony chuckled. "If you had told me that I'd be friends with a geek, I wouldn't have believed you, either. Guess we were both wrong."

"Yeah." Tim looked out at the view again. He was surprised at how his perception of things had changed so quickly. He had known that Tony wanted to talk about _something_ , but this? Leaving DC completely? Tim would never have suspected that kind of change. Tony just didn't leave. He was always there.

Then, something else occurred to him.

"Tony...if you're leaving and if I leave...that'll mean Gibbs has to get a whole new team, except for Bishop...if she stays on."

"She'll stay on. NCIS got its claws into her. She won't leave," Tony said. "...but I notice that you're suggesting that you're leaving, too."

Tim stood up and walked toward the overlook.

"Let's not go there, yet," he said.

"Okay. But you don't have to worry about Gibbs. Sure, we've been there for a long time, but we're hardly the only team he's had. Director Shepard was on his team. So was Stan and Langer. Gibbs knows how to deal with other teams. Besides, we don't know how much longer he'll be staying on himself. He's not getting any younger."

"Yeah, I guess."

"No guessing about it. Don't let Gibbs keep you from choosing what will be best. Sure, you'd be the senior agent, but Vance is giving you a team lead. You can't pass that up, Tim."

"Sure, I could," Tim said. "I've done it before."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't, especially when the only thing keeping you from it this time is that you're scared."

"But is it leaving for the right reasons?" Tim asked.

"What's right?" Tony asked. "Wanting to move on like I do? Wanting to move up like you do? Wanting to get away from something like I think Stan did? What's right?"

"I don't know. So much is tied up in it. How did _you_ decide?"

Tony shrugged. "I told you. I'd been thinking about it for a while and I finally decided I couldn't keep putting it off. So I went to Vance and asked him. I guess I could have just done it through HR, but he's been so involved in everything else with the team that I figured it made more sense to see what he thought of my plan."

"Was he surprised?"

"I don't know. You know Vance. If he doesn't want to show anything, he doesn't. He didn't. He just asked me if there was anything I wanted specifically. He asked me why."

"What did you tell him?"

"That I thought it was time. He agreed with me. He even said it was past time."

"It probably is. If you had your own team 10 years ago, you're probably ready for it, now."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, McGee."

"I try."

"He suggested Bahrain and I asked him if he was sure about that. He said he was if I was willing."

"How long will you be in Rota?"

"Vance said it'll be six months to a year. Gotta make sure I really can hack it, you know."

"Have you told Gibbs?"

"Nope. Don't you feel special, Tim? You're the first one to find out my big news," Tony said, smiling.

Tim couldn't admit it, but he did. He was surprised that Tony was telling him, first, but he was flattered by that, too. He wouldn't have thought Tony would make that choice.

"How many people have _you_ told?" Tony asked.

"Just Delilah, and you know how well _that_ worked out."

"Tim, you've got to explain everything to her. You can't keep hiding it, and I know that you hate that it happened, but it's not that you're weak. Heck, I'm still kicking myself for not noticing how much trouble you were having while Gibbs was gone. I should have seen that, and I didn't see it until you collapsed."

Tim shook his head. "No. It wasn't your fault."

"Maybe not, but I could have seen it sooner. Regardless, it's nothing for you to be ashamed of. Tell Delilah and let her understand."

Tim nodded.

"So...now that we've got all the big announcements out of the way, you ready to see more of the Grand Canyon?" Tony asked. "Or do you have something else planned, too? I only had one thing. You've got like four."

Tim supposed he should expect Tony to be like that. Get the serious stuff out of the way and then have more fun. He actually envied Tony's ability to compartmentalize like that.

"Only two, and no, there's nothing else. I'm ready."

"Good. There's lots more to see."

They headed back to the car.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Tony could see that Tim was more than a little anxious, but he had become a lot more cautious since the whole Dearing debacle. He was still good at his job, still himself, but when it came to things like this, more responsibility, he still was partly in that mindset he'd fallen into after the bombing. He failed to catch Dearing and that made him a failure. He couldn't handle it and that made him a failure.

He knew that Delilah could convince Tim to take the risk, but she had to know where he was coming from, first, because Tim could be so stubborn about this kind of thing when he felt he knew more than the other person did. It gave him the confidence to stick with his harsh assessment of himself because he could tell himself that he simply knew better than everyone else. Tony thought it was too bad that Tim had hidden it because he shouldn't be ashamed of what had happened, even though Tony could understand why he was.

Still, best to let it lie for now...and to think about how surprising it was that they could _both_ be leaving the team at the same time. He wondered if Vance had planned that, but how could he have known that Tony was going to come to him? Not even Gibbs could have known that because Tony hadn't told anyone while he was thinking about it and, quite frankly, he and Gibbs hadn't been talking as much lately, either.

Tim drove them on the loop and then, they stopped to look at the Upper Falls before heading to the other side of the canyon, all the way out to an overlook called Artist Point. It was a similar view to Inspiration Point, but just a little different angle. They walked around the area and took more photos although the lightheartedness was gone for the time being. It was a lot to digest and while Tony regretted changing the feel of the trip, he knew they'd still have fun. It would just be a little different. That's why he hadn't want to tell Tim in the beginning. Get some goofy fun in before the more serious fun happened.

Tony was so wrapped up in thinking about their big news, that he hardly noticed when Tim grabbed another tourist, an older man who seemed to be there by himself.

"Hey, could you take our picture here?" Tim asked.

"You want the falls, I'm assuming?"

"Yes, if possible."

"Of course."

"Tony, come over here!"

Tony was startled out of his thoughts, but he walked over.

"We've never had both of us in a picture on these road trips. We need at least one."

"I don't know if the camera can handle both of us at the same time," Tony said.

"Come on," Tim said.

Tony thought about giving Tim a hard time about it but decided against it. Instead, he stood next to Tim while the man took a few pictures of them standing at the overlook with the falls behind them.

Then, Tim took his camera back and looked through the photos.

"Perfect. Thank you."

"No problem. Where are you boys from?"

"DC," Tim said. "We've worked together for fifteen years and Tony's getting transferred out of country; so we're doing some sightseeing before he goes."

"Sounds like fun. You ever been here before?"

"Nope. I didn't even know there was more than one Grand Canyon."

The man smiled.

"If you have the time, you should consider hiking Mount Washburn."

"I saw a sign for that," Tim said. "What is it?"

"It's a fire lookout, but when you hike it, you can see Old Faithful, if it's erupting. When you get up high enough, you can look down onto the Grand Canyon, too. It's an amazing view of the caldera."

"I don't know if we'll have time, but that sounds amazing. Thanks!"

The man shook Tim's hand and nodded. "Enjoy the rest of your trip."

"You, too."

Then, Tim rejoined Tony.

"I want copies, McGee," Tony said.

"Of course."

"Did you want to try that hike?"

Tim shook his head. "Not this time around. I don't want to start hiking now. It'll get dark, and we have to start heading back tomorrow." He smiled. "Next time."

Tony grinned back. "Sounds good."

It had been a long day, but they still had to get back up to Gardiner. That was at least another hour and a half. Tony decided to take over the driving since Tim had done pretty much all of it that day.

They didn't rush and got to see some elk and bison along the side of the road (safely staying inside the car and maneuvering around all the people who stopped and got out even though they weren't supposed to). Tim took pictures of the bison as they drove past, but they didn't stop.

They didn't want to get the same thing twice, so they found another restaurant in Gardiner, got the food to go and went back to their hotel room to eat and relax. They talked a little, turned on the TV and Tony fell asleep very quickly.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim was still awake after Tony went to sleep. His mind was still reeling a little with the news that Tony was going to be transferred. Except for those first few months at Norfolk, his whole time at NCIS had been working with Tony. Even Gibbs had been gone for part of that time, but Tony hadn't. It just wouldn't be the same.

That brought his mind around to what Tony had said. Tim knew he was right. It was just that he'd become so used to _not_ telling Delilah about what had happened to him that he didn't know how to start talking about it.

He glanced over at Tony to make sure he was really sleeping. He didn't really want an audience for this. Then, he pulled out his tablet for the first time on the trip and starting writing an email. Short messages were fine on his phone, but this would be longer.

 _Dear Delilah,_

 _You're going to hate that I'm doing this via email, and maybe it does make me weak, but I've just barely convinced myself that I need to do it and if I waited until I saw you again, I'd lose my nerve._

He paused. That might sound like he was going to ask to break up...oh well. It would be clear enough soon.

 _I figure you're still mad about the transfer. Tony said that I needed to explain everything to you, the reason that I'm leery about taking over a team, even though it would be good for my career. I didn't want to tell you. I just wanted to forget about it all, let it stay in the past, but it doesn't go away, not completely. So here it is. I told you that I had some problems after the NCIS bombing. What I didn't tell you was how bad those problems were. I know you just assumed it was some issues with the trauma of the bomb and the people in the building and that, but it wasn't. It was a lot worse. I actually had a complete nervous breakdown. I guess I don't need to give you all the details at this point, but I got so obsessed with wanting to stop Dearing that I stopped sleeping. I was afraid that if I slept, he'd somehow manage to destroy something else. Even after they caught him, I was still afraid of it. It got to the point that Tony dragged me out on a road trip to try and force me to tell him what was going on. See, I didn't tell anyone then, either. I was trying to deal with it all on my own because that was the only way to do the right thing._

 _The short version is that I ended up checking into a psychiatric hospital for a couple of weeks while they helped me work through my fear and start sleeping again. You're probably wondering what this has to do with the transfer._

 _Here it is. I'm not hesitating because I'm lazy or complacent. As an idea, it is what I've always wanted. Moving up the ladder was my goal when I started at NCIS. I'm hesitating because I'm still afraid that I'll end up like that again, that I'll put others' lives in danger because I couldn't keep it together._

 _I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't want you to know how wimpy your boyfriend is. Then, I didn't know_ how _to tell you because it happened a few years ago._

He paused. What more was there to say? Not much.

 _I love you and I've missed you. I'm sorry._

 _Tim_

He looked at it for a long time before gathering up his courage and pushing send. He still didn't know when Delilah would get the email, but she'd get it at some point. He had no idea how she'd take it. All he knew was that there was no taking it back, now. All he could do was hope that it would help like Tony thought it would.

Then, he put the tablet away, lay down and tried to go to sleep.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony woke up, first again. In fact, Tim was snoring loudly and that always made Tony laugh. He looked over and Tim was lying on his back, with both hands flung up above his head. Today was the day they had to start back. He liked Tim's idea of taking the east entrance to get out. It would take longer, but that was okay. They had the time.

While he waited for Tim to wake up, he thought about the conversation they'd had yesterday, and he was surprised to realize that Tim's vote of confidence meant more than he could have anticipated. Tim's only worry had been that he was going to be in a place that could possibly become dangerous. He wasn't worried about Tony's ability to do the job, just that outside forces might have a negative impact. While Tony could concede that it might be a volatile situation, he figured that Vance wouldn't be planning to send him out there if he didn't think Tony could handle it. Tony knew that he was good at talking his way out of things when the situation called for it. So he had a lot of confidence in his ability to do the job.

That was why the comfort that Tim's confidence gave him was so surprising. Tony knew himself to be completely competent, but Tim was indicating that he felt the same way and that was nice to know. He knew that the situation that had resulted in his last stint as team lead had been less than ideal and the results of it had taken a while to fade. However, Tony had known that he had done a passable job, maybe even a good job, while Gibbs was gone. This new opportunity would just be the chance to get a team lead in the right way. He wouldn't be trying to fill an impossible-to-fill vacancy. It was just a new job.

But it wasn't _just_ anything. It was a huge change. It was something he wouldn't have ever thought he'd do. However, he'd been honest with Tim. It really had felt like time. Actually, it had felt like time earlier, but he had resisted the feeling. He really didn't like the changes, especially when he didn't feel in control of them. In this case, the change was at his own instigation. Vance had never said one word. In fact, Tony could believe that Vance was just a tad surprised that Tony had actually asked for the transfer.

He was glad that Vance hadn't wanted him as an Agent Afloat. Tony worked better on a team. He was a social guy and that was better for him. He could see Tim excelling at Agent Afloat if it weren't for the whole seasickness thing.

Speaking of Tim, he made some noisy snorts as he tossed and turned in the bed. Tony stifled a laugh. He was not a quiet sleeper at times.

Tim settled back and resumed snoring and Tony went back to his previous thoughts.

No matter what nerves he felt about this, no matter what regrets he might have in leaving behind everything he knew, he felt that this was really a good chance for him to grow. While he wasn't sure about any long-term stint in Bahrain, he _was_ sure that this would be an opportunity to figure out what he really did want. He knew that he was ready to leave Gibbs' team. As Stan had told him, Tony knew that it was time. He did wonder what had made Stan sure about that, but he could admit that it was none of his business, really.

Tim suddenly snorted again, rubbed at his face and sat up, his eyes lagging behind the rest of him. He blinked a few times before realizing that he was actually awake.

"Morning," Tony said. "I was about to see if I could turn off the chainsaw."

Tim stuck his tongue out at Tony.

"Ha ha. What time is it?"

"Nearly eight. You sneak out and party last night or something?"

Tim shook his head. "No...just had a hard time getting to sleep, but I got plenty since you let me sleep in."

Tony smiled and tried to suppress any lingering worry that he might have about Tim's mental health.

"I've just been sitting around. You want to shower, first?" he asked.

Tim shook his head.

"Nope. You can go, first. Give me a chance to feel less like a zombie."

"Okay. Don't say I didn't offer."

"I won't," Tim said and smiled a bit.

Tony took Tim at this word and headed in to shower and get ready for the long day of driving.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Tim lay back in bed for a few minutes. He hadn't slept really well, but it was enough. Then, when he felt alert enough to think about it, he sat up again and pulled out his phone. He wanted to check his email without Tony there to witness it. He didn't think Tony would give him any grief about it, but he was still uncertain about following Tony's advice and he just wanted to know if Delilah had received and/or replied to his message.

There was nothing. He didn't know if he should be bothered by that or not. The same situation of whether or not she would have the time to read his emails was...

Suddenly, there was a ding indicating a new email.

From Delilah.

He took a breath and opened it up.

 _Tim,_

 _We can't talk about this over email. I'm at the airport in Dubai. We'll talk when we're both home._

 _Delilah._

Was that good or bad? Tim didn't know, but he was glad that she had acknowledged the message, at least...although talking about all this in person was not something he would be looking forward to.

He sighed a little and put his phone away. And he tried to push his worry away as well.

Instead, he thought about Tony's big news. He wasn't looking forward to the idea of Tony being just _gone_. Somehow, he had always just assumed that Tony would be in the same place because he'd always been there. The reality of it was surprisingly depressing to him. However, Tim knew why he was actually upset by it. It was because, against all odds, Tony was one of his best friends, if not _the_ best friend he had. It hadn't started that way. It really hadn't _been_ that way for long. In the beginning, Tim had barely tolerated Tony and knew that the feeling had been mostly mutual. They hadn't _really_ liked each other all that much, but they worked together. That had changed and they had started actually enjoying each other's company. Now, with Tony moving, he was finding that the prospect of leaving the team wasn't as frightening. The concept of being in charge of his own team was still terrifying, but just leaving and changing his situation wasn't.

Times were changing in spite of years of them staying the same. In a way, they all had been marking time and it was well beyond the point when they should be trying something new, moving on with their lives. It was just that staying the same was so easy to do, and Tim had found comfort in knowing that what was expected of him was something he definitely could do. Taking a new job, becoming a team lead meant all sorts of unknowns and uncertainties. In the past, that hadn't worried him so much, but it sure was worrying him, now.

"Your turn, McGee," Tony said as he came out of the bathroom. "Don't be too slow."

"I'll work on that," Tim said.

He started to walk into the bathroom but then, a horrible thought struck him and he turned back to Tony.

"What?" Tony asked, looking confused.

"Tony...I left the ring on the counter."

"Yeah? So?"

"I got an email from Delilah. She was in the airport when she sent it. She's going to beat me back. She'll see it!"

Tony actually smiled, and Tim couldn't figure out why.

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"Of course, it is! She'll see the ring and I haven't asked her yet!"

"Well, since you've been chickening out so far, the pump will have been primed and you can ask her officially when you get back."

Tim sighed. "I wanted to do the whole thing, getting down on one knee and all that. Now..."

"You can still do that."

"But it won't be the same."

"No, but it'll still be good. If you want, we could try to get back before her."

Tim shook his head. "No. She sent the email a few hours ago. It'll be too late, even if we drove through the night to get back."

It wasn't just the worry that she'd say no. It was also the disappointment that he couldn't surprise her. In fact, Tim felt a little glum. For all that they'd been fighting, he still loved Delilah and had wanted to do the whole nine yards for her.

His disappointment must have shown on his face because Tony came over and put an arm around Tim's shoulders.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Maybe she won't see it."

"She'll see it, Tony. She's not blind and it's right on the counter. If you just hadn't distracted me."

"If you hadn't slept in."

"Yeah, I know." Tim sighed.

"Don't worry! Delilah won't be upset that she sees the ring before you get a chance to propose. She'll probably be excited. And if it's not stereotypical, you two aren't stereotypical, either. So it fits. Your only other option is to call someone and tell them to move your engagement ring off the counter."

Tim considered that and decided that he did _not_ want to advertise it any more widely than he already had.

"No. I guess I'll just let the chips fall where they may."

"Good attitude. Now, shower and let us get on our way back."

"Okay."

Tim went into the bathroom and showered quickly. There was no reason to linger in the hotel when they had all that distance to cover. He came out.

"How far are we going to go today?"

"At least to Sioux Falls," Tony said, looking at the map. "If we shoot for a thousand miles today, that will get us back in two days."

"We don't _have_ to push it that much," Tim said. "I don't think we should. We're going to be going through part of the park that we didn't see. If we're going to try to cover that much ground today, we won't have time to stop and see anything on our way out."

"Are you really suggesting that we _not_ hurry back?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. I guess I am," Tim said, smiling. "We have ten days. We've used up five so far. If we take three days to get back instead of two, that will only put us at eight. We'll still be back early, and we can make some stops on our way out."

"I'm fine with that if you're not in a hurry to get back and grab the ring from Delilah's finger."

Tim laughed. "I doubt she'll be wearing it when I get back."

"You never know. Ready to get out of here?"

"Yes. Please."

Tony grinned and went to check them out. Tim grabbed the bags and headed for the car.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

They got on the road and headed for the east entrance. It was all the way on the other side of the park, but that was okay because that gave them a chance to see more. They decided to take the road they'd taken the day before because there had been less traffic on it. They covered the ground fairly quickly, still enjoying the views out the windows, but they didn't stop until they passed Canyon Village and were finally on a section of road they hadn't been on before. As they headed down to the Fishing Bridge, they noticed that the Yellowstone River was getting larger.

"Sulphur Caldron," Tony read. "Pull over!"

Tim did as he was told and they stopped to see that as well as the Mud Volcano area. All in all, Tony was glad that Tim had decided not to rush back. He would have been willing to do it if Tim had wanted to, but they wouldn't have had the time to see all this. With how much time they were taking just getting out of Yellowstone, he couldn't help wondering how far they'd really get.

It was a good thing they were early.

Then, once they got going again, they were surprised to see Lake Yellowstone. They had known it was there. It was on the park maps, but still, it was much bigger than they had expected. So they had to stop and take a look. They stopped at the Lake Butte Overlook, climbed up to the top and got an amazing view of Lake Yellowstone.

"Wow," Tony said. "I didn't realize it would look like this. It's huge!"

"Yellowstone sure is a place of opposites, isn't it," Tim said. "You have this amazing freshwater lake and a mud volcano just up the road. The Grand Canyon and all these mountains. Waterfalls and geysers. I can't believe it all fits."

Tony nodded in agreement and suddenly, it hit him that he and Tim were kind of the same way. Who would have thought that they'd ever be friends? A jock and a geek. Serious and joking. And yet, it fit.

"We need a picture here," Tim said.

He started looking around.

"There's no one else here, McGee."

"Doesn't matter. We still need a picture. Just give me a second."

Tim looked around again and Tony was struck anew at how differently he and Tim approached having fun. Tim was so serious about it, even though Tony knew he was enjoying himself.

"Ha! Here we go." Tim hurried over to a large rock. He set his camera on it and then starting gesturing. "Okay. Move over to the right," he said.

"Tim, we could just hold the camera and stand in front of it."

Tim shook his head. "No. All that does is get _us_. I want the lake in the background. We need more distance for that. Just another step. There. Perfect. Don't move."

Tony watched as Tim set the timer and then ran over to stand beside him.

"Smile, Tony!"

Tony smiled as he was told and held it for what seemed an unnaturally long time. Then, Tim ran back to the camera and checked.

"Perfect," he said again.

"I'm glad you're happy, McGee."

"I'm thrilled," Tim said.

They took more pictures around the overlook. Then, it was back down to the car and off toward the east entrance...taking more pictures as they went along.

"It looks like we're just heading into more of the same, doesn't it," Tony said as they left the park.

"Yeah, it does. Should be pretty, then."

"How many license plates did we get?" Tony asked.

"I'm driving. You've got the list."

Tony looked at the states and provinces Tim had written down.

"Looks like about 30."

"Nice."

"So it looks like Cody is the next city we'll come to. We can stop and gas up and get lunch there."

"Sounds good." Then, Tim smiled. "We won't be making it to Sioux Falls tonight."

"You don't think so?" Tony asked. "Come on! That's only another... 800 miles! No problem!"

"Yeah...no."

"Okay, fine. Be that way."

Then, Tony looked at the route they would be taking. It would just lead them back over a road they'd been on twice before. That was no good.

"Hey, Probie..." he said, getting his best wheedling voice going.

"Oh, no. What now?" Tim asked.

"Since we're in no rush to get back..."

"What?"

"Why go through South Dakota when we've already seen South Dakota?"

"What are you suggesting instead?" Tim asked, warily.

"I'm suggesting that we drop down and drive through the Cornhusker State."

Tim's brow furrowed for a moment. "I hope you mean Nebraska and not Kansas or Oklahoma."

"I do, although I'd be okay with going further south if you _want_."

"No."

"Okay, okay. You all right with driving through Nebraska? It shouldn't add much time."

"You'll miss seeing the Wall Drug signs again."

"I've seen them. Twice. That's fine by me."

Tony could tell the minute that Tim had capitulated and he grinned. He didn't even have to say anything.

"Excellent. I'll figure out where we can stop tonight."

"Well, you're taking over at Cody, don't forget," Tim said.

"I won't forget, but it's your turn to buy gas."

"I know."

They reached the east entrance and left Yellowstone behind, although it was hard to tell that they had. The road between Yellowstone and Cody, Wyoming was just a continuation of the same kinds of twisting, turning roads that they'd driven on in Yellowstone.

They got some fast food in Cody and filled up the car and then, Tony took over the driving as they headed toward Cheyenne, Wyoming, and then turned east to drive through the plains of Nebraska. It was starting to get late when they decided to find a place to stop for the night. They ended up in a hotel in North Platte, Nebraska. It wasn't glamorous, but it was fine. They got something to eat, gassed up the car and then slept.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The next morning, they didn't waste any time. They got up, showered, found a place to get breakfast and then headed out. Tony was driving the first stretch. It wasn't the most exciting thing ever.

"Do you know the alphabet game?" Tim asked, suddenly.

"Does it have to do with driving?"

"It has to do with long trips in a car and being really, really bored."

"You're saying that you're bored with me and my sparkling personality?" Tony asked. "I'm hurt."

"It's just a little too bright for me, sometimes," Tim said.

"So what's the game?"

"You try to get to the end of the alphabet by reading the signs. So..." He looked down the road. "A in interstate," he said, pointing to a sign for I-80. "B for Brandy Island. And you can't use the same sign twice. Only one letter per sign."

"I think I'm at a disadvantage since I'm driving and all."

"You're supposed to be better at competition stuff, aren't you?"

"Sports, Probie. They're called sports and this is not a sport."

"You want to try it?"

Tony smiled. "Sure. Why not?"

"Okay. I'm two letters ahead of you."

"Hey! Wait a minute! You can't start like that! You already have an advantage. You can't take another one!"

Tim laughed. "Okay. Fine." He looked out the windshield. "A in Platte!"

"A in...Shack!" Tony said.

"Just don't drive off the road, okay?"

"I'm a much better driver than you are, Probie. B in Bignell! Now, who's ahead."

"B in Bible! C in McCullough! D in..."

"C in Chester!" Tony shouted over him. "You can't use that sign, now!"

"D in Brady!"

They kept going and they both sped through the first part of the alphabet pretty quickly, considering they were driving through a lot of farmland and little else, but then, they both got to the same letter.

"Q. What can have Q in it?" Tony asked.

"Quick?" Tim suggested. "Maybe there's a city with a Q in it. We'll just have to wait. That's the rule. No skipping letters."

They ended up stuck on Q through most of Nebraska, but then...

"Q in Quik-stop!" Tony shouted with triumph. "R in Rise. S in McDonalds. Actually, speaking of...are you hungry?"

"Since I'm going to lose this game, I think that would be... Q in Quint!"

"Quint? Where?"

Tim pointed at a little car repair shop called Quint's Auto. "Right there."

"You are too lucky, Tim."

"I try."

They decided to stop for an early lunch and gas. Then, Tim took over the driving. It was going to be a long day, but that was fine. Neither of them minded that.

It gave them more time to try and win the alphabet game.

...not that it took very long. There were enough signs that they sped through the last letters, until they got to Z. Tony got there first, but then, he couldn't find a sign with a Z on it, giving Tim a chance to catch up.

"Oh, look there's construction. Only one lane of traffic," Tim said with a groan. "This is going to be... Hey, Z in zone! Yes! I won!"

"Where?" Tony asked. Then, he saw it.

 _No passing zone_

"Oh, scrud. No fair!" Tony protested.

"It was plenty fair when you were winning. I was even driving," Tim said with a grin. "No sulking now that you've lost."

"I think you cheated. You really know this stretch of road and just pretended to be annoyed that we're going through here again."

"Yeah, I secretly drove to Nebraska just so that I could beat you at the alphabet game," Tim said.

"See? You admitted it!"

"If you just admit that you lost, I won't even rub your face in your defeat...at least not very much."

"Ha. Let's see if you can do it again."

"Nope. I only play one game," Tim said and laughed. "No sense in ruining my record."

Tony laughed. "Fine. Be that way. I get to choose the music, then."

"Go ahead."

They went back to listening to the radio and to different albums, singing along and chatting. It helped pass the time as they crawled through the distance between Omaha and Des Moines. Once they got through the construction, they covered the rest of the distance more quickly. They decided to stay just outside of Chicago for the night. They could have gone farther, but it looked like a storm was rolling in and neither wanted to drive in the dark _and_ in the rain. Both of them were tired when they got there. For whatever reason, driving all day was tiring. So they got their room and then both fell asleep quickly.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim woke up with a start. It was dark. Very dark. Like no power dark. For just a second, he felt that still-present dread that accompanied these kinds of events. Then, he grimaced and told himself that there was nothing to be afraid of...and he mostly believed it.

There was lightning outside, and to help himself get over the fear, he got out of bed and walked over to the window. It was pouring rain outside. With the thunder, lightning and rain, it was no wonder that the power was out. He still hated these kinds of things, not the storm in and of itself. He had liked rain when he was younger. It was just that lingering fear that every possible negative thing was happening because he had failed in some way, failed to do what was necessary.

The one good thing was that, now, he knew that wasn't true. He knew that his fear was just that: fear. It wasn't reality. It didn't always stop him from _feeling_ it, but it was enough to keep him going.

Right now, it was enough to keep him looking at the storm and appreciating it, rather than fearing it.

Mostly.

"Tim?"

Tim turned away from the window, thinking about how different this moment was from their first road trip when he'd had a complete meltdown. That moment when he'd heard Tony say his name, cutting through the physical and mental darkness, had given him the ability to keep breathing through the breakdown at a time when he felt like he was actually dying. He wasn't sure Tony had realized just how far gone he had been at that moment.

"Tim? You all right?"

"Yeah. Power's out. Just watching the storm...remembering."

"Remembering what?"

Tim smiled at the tone of the question. Tony was remembering that same moment, obviously.

"We both know what I'm remembering. The good thing is that I'm just remembering."

There was a period of silence. Tim could see the shape of Tony sitting up on his bed.

"That's all you need to do, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"You just remember. There's no reason to think that you'll actually experience it again."

Tim looked back out at the storm.

"It's a little different between being a team lead and not breaking down because the power went out."

"No, it's not. Not much. Your problem was not being able to accept the reality that Dearing couldn't hurt anyone ever again. If you can accept it in this situation, you can accept it anywhere else."

"Yeah, maybe."

He heard the squeaking of the bed as Tony got off and walked over.

"Tim...you're really lucky."

That did not seem to be a coherent follow-up to their current topic of conversation. Tim turned toward Tony.

"What?"

"You have a job you love and you have the chance to get the promotion you should have had years ago..."

"Not _that_ many years ago," Tim said.

"I'm not done. You have a woman you love and you're getting ready to propose. If you could just relax a little bit and enjoy that, you'd be just fine."

"It's not that simple," Tim said.

"Sure, it is. In contrast, I can't figure out what I want, except to move on. I can't figure out where I should be, except that it's somewhere else. But the difference between us is that I'm just going out to figure it out and I think I'll have fun along the way. You're so worried about messing up that you don't seem to notice that you _already_ have it figured out and there's no reason to worry."

"Except that I'm still a little kid scared of the dark, sometimes. That's not what a team lead should be."

"No, you're not. You weren't back then, either, and you know it."

"I know what the official term for it was. It doesn't change the fact that I was so messed up that an old man had become an all-powerful monster in my head."

"Yes, it does, because you got help for that and you haven't been that way for a long time."

"Tony, be honest. Do you really think that I'd be any good at leading a team? I don't need anyone to stroke my ego or give me a self-esteem boost. What matters here is that I'm not thinking about something that I'd fail at, because failing at that level gets people killed."

There was a moment of silence and then...

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"You asked a question. It was a simple yes or no answer. My answer is yes."

Tim laughed a little, but he couldn't even think of anything to say in response.

"And no, I'm not trying to stroke your ego or give you a self-esteem boost, although it sounds like you need one."

"My self-esteem is just fine."

Now, it was Tony's turn to laugh.

"No, it's not. Not if you're questioning your ability to lead a team after twelve years of being an agent, especially when you were hand-selected by Gibbs."

Tim knew that Vance wouldn't have offered it to him if he didn't think Tim could do it. He knew that he had the years, the experience, but at the same time, he didn't have that confidence in himself, although he could admit to himself that it was nice to have Tony's encouragement, especially when Tony still called him Probie, on occasion. It wasn't that Tim didn't understand why Tony did it, but at the same time, he didn't always enjoy the implication, and to have Tony say that the "probie" should have his own team was kind of nice.

There was a bright flash and then a clap of thunder that literally shook the room. Tim jumped back a little.

"That was a close one," Tony said.

"Yeah," Tim said, thinking that they could move on from the conversation. "I hope the storm is done by tomorrow. I hate driving through heavy rains."

"Me, too."

Tim hesitated for a moment and then decided that there was no reason to keep on.

"Doesn't look like the power's coming back on anytime soon. I think I'll just go back to sleep."

He started walking back to his bed, but Tony caught his arm.

"Tim..."

To stave off any more awkward conversation, Tim just said the first thing that popped into his mind.

"If I should be leading a team already, then, you should probably have had _your_ own team for years instead of coming back to the same place when Gibbs came back."

Tony let go of him.

"What?"

"You say that _I_ should have had my own team already, but you're the one who's already done it once and passed up a chance to have your own team before. You should have had your own team a long time before I did. Even Gibbs thought that some of the things you did while you were in charge were better."

Suddenly, the lights in the parking lot flickered and came back on. The lights were off in the room, still, but it was no longer completely dark.

"Power's back on," Tim said, unnecessarily. "Good. Hopefully, that means the storm is almost over. I'm ready for bed...again."

As he'd hoped, Tony didn't say anything else. They both got back in bed, and Tim went to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Tony did not go back to sleep after the power came back on, not for a while. He watched as Tim lay down, obviously not wanting to talk about his possible promotion again, but he was glad that Tim seemed to go right back to sleep with no trouble. Even with that source of nerves, he was still able to sleep.

Tony was thinking, though. Thinking about Tim saying that Tony should have his own team and that _Gibbs_ had thought he'd done some things better. Gibbs hadn't ever told _him_ that, and he wondered if Tim was just being nice about it, trying to return the favor or something.

Still, as he lay in bed, listening to the rain and the occasional rumble of thunder, Tony considered the choice he'd made to leave Gibbs' team and finally accept his own team. Tim was probably right that he should have done it sooner, but Tony still felt he'd been right to stay after Gibbs' return. Even though he'd had to turn down Rota to do so, he didn't think that Gibbs had really been ready to take over again. Gibbs might smack him for thinking that, but Tony still thought it anyway. They had all needed the idea of stability with Gibbs leaving, showing up, leaving, showing up but not being quite himself.

All in all, he was glad he had stayed back then, but he could acknowledge that he had coasted on that excuse for far too long, and Tim seemed to agree, even if he hadn't actually _said_ that.

Leaving would be hard, harder than he would admit to anyone, but at the same time, it would be really easy. Tony didn't care if that sounded like a contradiction. He knew what he meant even if no one else would.

Finally, after another hour or so, he fell asleep, glad that the power was on and glad that they were almost home.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The next morning, they were both up early. The rain was still falling, but it was much lighter than it had been during the night, nothing to keep them from getting on the road again. Tony drove first because he knew he'd start feeling tired later but to start out, he was good. They planned on getting home that day and this would only be about ten hours instead of fifteen or sixteen.

As they made their way back home, Tony glanced over at Tim a few times, wanting to ask him about what he'd said the night before, but unsure that he really wanted an answer. Strange that he was so focused on that when he would never have thought that it would matter so much to him.

Finally, around the middle of Ohio, when he and Tim traded, he couldn't stand it anymore.

"So...did you mean what you said last night?"

Tim actually laughed a little.

"What?"

"That sounds like you're referencing some kind of romantic confession."

Tony laughed, too. "Well, I make no claims to whatever I might have said while I was sleeping."

"What did you mean, then?"

"You said you thought I should have had my own team and that Gibbs thought I did things better."

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think so," Tim said.

"Yeah, you would."

Tim laughed again. "Okay, I would, but I meant it."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes. Why? I wouldn't think that my opinion would mean all that much."

"Well, I wouldn't, either. Go figure."

Tim smiled.

"You're my friend, Tim. You've worked under me for years. That matters."

"Well, I'm not going to say that I liked everything you did."

"Well, I didn't like everything _you_ did, either. I don't think that's required."

"Neither do I," Tim said. "I just didn't want to set up any unrealistic expectations."

"I have no expectations."

"Good."

"But you really think that this is something I should do?"

"Tony, you're sounding as uncertain as I do. Yes. You know you're a good agent and it's not like you've never been in charge before. My problems weren't with your being the team lead. I didn't question your being in charge when Gibbs was gone. I didn't have a problem with that beyond the problems we _all_ had in figuring out how to deal with the changes. It was _after_ he came back that I had problems."

"Then, what was it?" Tony asked, curious for about the first time. He'd never bothered to try and figure out the source of Tim's irritation. He'd noticed it and been bothered by it, maybe even a little hurt, but since it had gone away so quickly, he hadn't ever asked why.

"It was..." Tim sighed a little and got that evaluating expression on his face again, only he was evaluating himself.

"Well?"

"It's hard to put into words. I understand it perfectly in my head, but getting it out so that it makes sense is going to be much harder. Besides, it was years ago and I haven't really thought about it in a long time."

"Give it a try."

"Well...I think it was partly because of the reset button getting pushed. Gibbs was gone and you took over. That made _me_ the senior agent, and you treated me that way. It was kind of trippy, and I don't know if we all did things right. I _know_ I screwed up with Lee, but... but it was starting to make sense and to fit and I felt like I had a new place that I was doing well in."

"And?"

Tim shrugged. Because he was driving, he couldn't really make eye contact, but Tony could tell how carefully he was trying to express his feelings. He appreciated that, but it told him in advance that he wasn't necessarily going to like what Tim said.

"And then Gibbs came back. He pushed _you_ back into your desk and that pushed _me_ back to mine. I had thought that...that at least you'd keep treating me with the same amount of confidence in my abilities and respect that you had while you were leading the team. It wasn't like any of our skills had changed. We were the same. It was just that the positions were different, but it felt like you were pushing _everything_ back to the way it had been. I wasn't a skilled agent anymore. Somehow, _your_ demotion made _me_ the probie again. I had a hard time with it and instead of saying anything about it to anyone, I just lost my temper...and got smacked down by Gibbs for it. That didn't help because I resented him, too, because he had come back and changed things just when I was getting comfortable with how they were. I couldn't say that to anyone. We were supposed to be happy about it...and I was. Really, but I was also irritated. I just learned to tamp it down deeper so it wasn't obvious. And over time, it went away. I knew that your calling me _Probie_ wasn't a comment on my abilities, but in the moment, I didn't see that."

Tim shrugged again, as if trying to emphasize how little it mattered, but for Tony it was a bit of a revelation. He hadn't really ever thought about how Tim might have perceived all that. If he were honest, Tony knew that he hadn't considered Tim's reactions at all. He wasn't very happy about Gibbs' return, in the sense that he was upsetting the carefully constructed balance Tony had created in his absence. He hadn't been thrilled about the demotion and so his reaction had been to put everything back to how it had been and not bother to regret it, never realizing that Tim wouldn't see it that way.

"Hey...I'm sorry, Tim."

"You don't need to be. Like I said, it was years ago, and I really hadn't thought about it until you started asking."

"But I should have asked when it happened. I knew you were upset, but I didn't know why and I didn't ask you. I could have."

"But you didn't and it's fine."

"I sure have missed the boat on what bugs you, haven't I."

Tim smiled. "Yeah, but that's because we don't think in the same way, Tony. Not about almost anything. The problem we had before was expecting each other to react in the way that made sense to us. That was never going to happen. I'm just glad that we both got over that."

"Me, too."

"And I do think that you'll be a good team lead."

"So will you," Tony said, making it sound as much like a certainty as he could without coming right out and saying it.

Tim smiled, and Tony knew he hadn't missed the emphasis, but he didn't say anything about it. Maybe it was time to let that go and let Tim work through it on his own. He'd heard Tony say he should take the position multiple times and that he had nothing to worry about. Now, Tim just needed to think about it a little bit.

They spent their last few hours talking about what Tony was going to need to buy to live in Bahrain, what he'd do with his stuff that he couldn't afford to ship over, how often he'd take a vacation and come back to the States, would he ride a camel to get to work, etc. It was fun to talk about it and have it be preparations for a job opportunity, not Tony giving up something just for a job. He liked that Tim was open about missing him, even though he thought it was something he deserved. It was also nice to be able to talk without hiding anything.

It was like they were friends or something. Tony smiled to himself. Like Tim had said, who would have guessed that they'd ever actually be friends. But they were.

Then, he noticed that Tim was getting tense again. He could guess why.

"Calm down, Tim."

"I'm calm," Tim said, nervously. "I'm just wondering what Delilah is going to want to talk about, first. I sent her an email last night."

"About what?"

"Giving her a summary of what happened. She said that we couldn't talk about it over email."

"She's right."

"I know. I just wanted to start it because I figured that I'd probably wimp out if I didn't. Will she want to talk about that or the ring, first?"

"Which do you want?" Tony asked.

Tim laughed a little. "Neither?"

"I doubt that's an option. You're making this too serious. Just relax and see what happens. You love Delilah. She loves you. The rest will work itself out."

"I wish I hadn't left the ring out on the counter. Then, I would only have one thing to worry about."

"You don't have anything to worry about."

"Yeah, right."

DC got closer and closer. Tony knew that there was no way that Tim would relax until he'd actually talked to Delilah, so he stopped trying. Instead, they sang along with the radio for the last hour.

Then, it was off to Tim's place. When they pulled up in front, Tim took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"No putting it off, Probie. Go on."

The front door opened, and Delilah was there. Tim groaned.

"She has the ring box in her lap."

Tony laughed, although he _was_ at least a _little_ sympathetic. No one liked having plans ruined.

"Go on. You can tell me about how wonderful it turned out to be when you get to work tomorrow."

Finally, Tim nodded and got out. Tony got out, too, and walked around to the driver's side, so that he could drive home. He waved at Delilah and she waved back. Then, he patted Tim supportively on the shoulder.

"Thanks for coming with me, Tim."

"Thanks for inviting me." Tim looked over at Delilah. "I'll see you, tomorrow."

He grabbed his bag and hurried over. They went inside together, and Tony grinned. It would be fine. No doubt Delilah would have got over her initial shock at finding the ring box already and would be ready to talk about it in a rational fashion.

As for Tony, he went home, started some laundry going and lay back on his couch for a little while, enjoying the silence, enjoying home, and thinking about how great the trip had turned out.

"Exactly what I wanted," he said aloud.

Then, he decided that he needed to watch a movie. He was going to go for something serious, but he suddenly felt in the mood for something a little goofy.

He put in _The Muppet Movie_ and watched another group head out on a road trip.

A perfect end to the vacation.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Delilah didn't say anything as Tim walked inside. Tim supposed it should be him who broke the silence.

"So...which do you want to talk about, first?" he asked.

Delilah gestured for him to sit down. He did and she maneuvered herself over to sit beside him.

"Why didn't you tell me all that before?" she asked.

"I didn't want to," Tim said, honestly. "In the beginning, I didn't know if we would last. I haven't had too much luck until now, and it would seem a little strange to tell my new girlfriend that her boyfriend had been in the loony bin. Then, it was easier not to talk about it because it was embarrassing, too. I told you what I needed to tell you, and that was all. Then, I just didn't know how to bring it up again...without ruining everything."

Delilah was quiet for a few seconds. Tim felt like the ring box was glowing bright neon colors. He was surprised there was no alarm sounding. Delilah didn't even seem to be noticing it, in spite of the fact that she still had it in her lap.

"How long did it last?"

"Weeks," Tim said, trying to be as open as he could. "Getting worse with every night that passed and me not sleeping. Every time I dropped off, I'd wake up terrified that something bad had happened and I'd let it happen."

"And since then?"

"I have bad nights still, sometimes, but they're nothing like before."

Delilah reached out and took his hand. She squeezed it tightly and finally smiled.

"It is in the past, Tim. It doesn't have to be your future, too. I wish you'd told me before, but I can see why you didn't. I'm sorry that I yelled at you. I should have apologized before I left, but I was so sure I was right."

"You probably were," Tim said.

"Not if you really didn't agree. That's what I started thinking about while I was in Dubai. This is _your_ job, not mine, and even if I didn't really understand, I could have been more supportive than I was."

Tim smiled a little. "It was almost flattering, though, how upset you were."

Delilah laughed.

"Thank you for making my interference sound supportive."

Tim smiled. Then, he took a breath and reached out. He took the ring box from her lap. Delilah's expression changed, although she was still smiling.

"I'm sorry that I left this out. I didn't even think about it."

"Sorry?"

Tim looked at her and then at the box.

"I had everything all planned out in my head. Then, you told me you were going to Dubai. So I modified my plans. Then, we had that fight and you left. I hadn't figured out what to do next, but..." He looked up at her. "...but I still wanted to do it."

"Even after our fight?"

Tim nodded.

"How do you feel about it?" he asked. "I know we haven't really talked about it much, but I figure that we've managed to make it this far, and I can't promise to be perfect. I know I haven't been so far, but...I love you, Delilah. I want to marry you."

"Are you going to show me the ring?"

"Didn't you already look at it?"

"Maybe."

Tim smiled and opened the box. He held it out to her.

"I wanted to make sure that it would be something you could wear without it getting in your way when you're wheeling around."

He wished she would answer.

Delilah didn't move for just long enough that Tim began to think she was going to say no.

Then, she held out her left hand.

"Are you saying yes?" Tim asked.

Delilah smiled.

"Yes."

"Then, I'll put the ring on," Tim said.

Delilah laughed as Tim slid the ring onto her finger and then kissed her.

That was a pretty good end to a road trip, Tim decided.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Tony got to work early. He knew that Gibbs should hear that he was leaving from him, even if he already knew. How would Gibbs take it? He had no idea, but he figured that Stan had survived leaving. He would, too.

Gibbs was already at his desk, working. No big surprise there.

"Hey, Boss," he said.

Gibbs looked up. Tony walked over, demonstrating without words that he had something important to say.

"I'm taking a transfer," he said.

The eyebrow went up as Tony had known it would.

"I'll be going to Rota in about a month. Then, I'll be heading up a team in the Bahrain field office next year."

"That what you want?" Gibbs asked.

Unlike with Tim, Tony didn't want to get into the want or not want discussion with Gibbs. He was afraid that Gibbs would use that uncertainty against his decision, even though the uncertainty was more about location than anything.

"Yeah, it is."

"Okay."

Nothing more was said, and really, nothing more needed to be said, although Tony might wish that Gibbs would say _something_ about the fact that Tony had worked for him for close to 15 years and would now be leaving. ...but Gibbs wasn't that kind of person, and it wasn't like Tony was leaving right this instant. There was time for Gibbs to act like a functioning human being, not that Tony would hold his breath waiting for that to happen.

"Just wanted you to know," Tony said, finally.

He walked back to his desk and sat down. He started working and there was only business-like silence for the next half hour. Gibbs got a call from Vance and disappeared up to Vance's office.

Then, the elevator dinged and Tim got off. He was grinning like an idiot which told Tony just how the night before had gone.

"You're looking happy," Tony said.

"Am I?" Tim asked.

"She said yes."

Tim grinned even more widely.

"Yes."

"How was it?"

"Good. It was good."

"And?"

"And what?"

Tim's phone suddenly rang.

"Agent McGee."

Tony watched as Tim's expression changed and became more serious.

"I'll be right up."

He hung up and took a deep breath.

"What is it?" Tony asked.

"Vance wants my decision."

"And?"

"And I guess I'll have to decide in the next minute."

"You mean you haven't?"

"No, I have. It's just that the decision changes about every five minutes," Tim said. "I'll let you know. I don't want to keep him waiting."

He hurried up the stairs. Tony watched him go but smiled a little bit. Tim was going to accept the transfer. He couldn't pass it up again, especially with Delilah wanting him to take the promotion. And he wanted it himself. That much was obvious. He'd just wait for Tim to come back and tell him.

Tony got to work because there was always something to do. When he checked his email, he had forms from HR that he had been told to fill out for his transfer _before_ the road trip and he'd put them off. Time to get them done. He hated forms.

The interesting thing, Tony decided, was that, the more he worked on this stuff, the more he felt that he'd made the right decision. Instead of being more worried, he was less. Having told Tim and being able to answer his questions made him more confident in his choice, no matter what ultimately came of it.

Ten minutes later, Tim came down the stairs.

"Well?"

The nervousness again told Tony the answer before Tim said anything.

 _There's another reason why I need to leave. It's getting too easy to read people. There's no challenge anymore._

"Yeah," Tim said.

"You'll be good at it, Tim. Don't sweat it."

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. You'll be fine. When?"

"A couple of months. Vance wants me to help train up Gibbs' new team."

"Was Gibbs in there?"

"Yeah. I wish he hadn't been. I still feel like he stares right through me."

"So he knows we're both leaving, then."

"Yeah."

"Did he say anything?"

"No."

Privately, Tony was glad because he would have been a little bit hurt if Gibbs had said something to Tim while _not_ saying anything to Tony. In a way, that was something that hadn't changed since Tim had been added to the team. There was just that little bit of lingering possessiveness. The difference was that Tony didn't blame Tim for it anymore.

"Well, that's par for the course, then. Since we're still on the clock, how about we get caught up on this cold case Gibbs was working on while we were gone."

Tim nodded. "Sounds good."

They got to work and Tony smiled to himself. Things were finally changing and that was a good thing. Even though he didn't like change.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

 _One year later..._

Tony let himself into his apartment, grateful for the A/C that made the place livable. He still hadn't quite adjusted to the incredible heat and humidity. The actual temperatures were hot but not unbearable. It was just that the humidity made it feel a _lot_ hotter than that.

He sat down on his couch and was relieved. He still hadn't got used to being always in charge, and his team was still learning to work with him, but things were improving day by day and he figured that this would work out all right.

He flipped through his mail and stopped on an envelope with an address from the States. He grinned and opened it, knowing what it was going to be. Then, he got out his phone and dialed an overseas number, not caring about the cost.

" _Agent McGee."_

"You're sounding very official."

" _You must have got it."_

"A real wedding invitation. I guess it's going to happen, then?"

" _You know why we were putting it off. I wanted to get settled in this new job first. That was stressful enough."_

"Sure. Doesn't mean I won't bug you about it."

" _Did you get anything else in your mail?"_

"Yeah, but I haven't gone through it all, yet. I just got home."

" _There should be something else."_

Tony furrowed his brow, but picked up the pile and stopped at a stiff envelope marked with the DO NOT FOLD label.

"What's this?"

" _Open it."_

Tony set down the phone so that he could do as he was told. He opened the envelope and pulled out a photograph, or rather a photo collage. It was a series of images from their last road trip. They'd already exchanged pictures, and Tony had seen all of them before, but the composition of the photos was good with two photos that had both of them, one at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the other at Yellowstone Lake. Tony smiled as he looked at it. Then, he picked up the phone.

"Nice."

" _I figured you probably needed more decorations."_

"I don't see a frame."

" _Buy your own frame. International shipping rates are insane."_

Tony laughed.

" _So are you coming?"_

"With bells on."

" _Good."_

"Then, we can start planning our next road trip."

" _Where do you want to go?"_

"I was thinking...Alaska."

" _What?"_

"I need something that's the opposite of where I am."

After a few seconds, Tim laughed.

" _Okay. Alaska."_

"Good. Congratulations, Agent McGee."

" _Thanks, Tony. For everything."_

They hung up and Tony looked at the photograph for a long time. Yeah, he missed the States. He missed his friends, but this was a new adventure and he knew that he hadn't lost anything.

He was seeing new horizons.

...and he'd be seeing Alaska before long.

With that thought, he got up and headed to the kitchen to make dinner.

FINIS!


End file.
